Players drafted. Batting order decided. Umpires prepared. The night is fast approaching for the Poetry World Series at the Mill Valley Library, where two teams of bards will swing at curveballs thrown by ever-clever emcee Daniel Handler (aka children’s book author Lemony Snicket).
Those in the know have tickets in hand for the free in-person event on Friday, April 25. The rest should register right now on the library’s website. Beer, popcorn and music are included.
Now that we’ve taken care of those logistics, let’s delve into the rulebook of this zany baseball-themed competition that gives the audience a taste of poignant, funny and even bawdy works from the Bay Area’s best poets.
The Game
Two teams, Blue and Green this year, have a roster of three poets each. A poet from Blue and a poet from Green trot to the plate. When the emcee pitches a random topic from the audience, the players lickety-split search through their oeuvre for a poem that relates—no writing on the fly.
The Play
The inning begins when the first poet reads their work aloud, stunning the audience with their ability to stoke profound feelings in perfect strangers. Play continues with poet two’s reading.
The Scoring
After every three innings, the two well-qualified umpires muse over the poetry and pull their hair out trying to select a winner. When push comes to shove, the umps may rely on a Ouija board, Magic 8 Ball or other cutting-edge scientific equipment to help them decide.
Nine innings, and one team goes home with the 2025 Poetry World Series bragging “writes.”
If last year’s competition serves as a barometer, the audience is in for a rip-roaring evening. Moving rapidly from lovely lyrics to guttural verses, the poets delight and surprise every time they swing their metaphorical bat.
With “fertility” as her prompt, 2024 competitor Christell Victoria Roach read “Origin Story,” an ode to her mother. “Nana stretched like any mother who has given life to children, hands laid upon my mother’s womb, praying for the child, I breathed in the tongues of a community of mothers passed from bosom to bosom…”
Later in that game, Handler pitched “unpeeled” to Jacques J. Rancourt, who responded with a randy poem about the soul titled “Monster Cock,” in which a gay go-go dancer “pulls out a cock roughly the size of my forearm.”
And so it went last year. And this year’s competition, in between the frivolity and repartee, will deliver the same breadth and depth of the exquisite art form, says former Marin poet laureate Rebecca Foust, co-founder of the Poetry World Series.
The event remains true to its origin story, which began in 2008. Foust had become struck by the sameness, the static nature, of poetry readings at bookstores and libraries.
“There were rap poetry competitions all over the place, and they would have hundreds of people attending, whereas your normal poetry reading in a library would have 10 people,” she said.
Foust joined forces with poet Melissa Stein and University of San Francisco English professor Daniel Rader to redesign the format of poetry readings. The trio aimed to attract people other than poets to the events and keep them engaged. Inspired by San Francisco Giants fever taking place at the time, the baseball theme emerged. The Poetry World Series opening game took place at the San Francisco Public Library, with Marin’s Michael Krasny emceeing.
Seventeen years later, the umps are still yelling, “Play ball.” The event’s success lies in the poet line-up, which is anything but haphazard. A steering committee recruits published poets who also have a certain je ne sais quoi.
“We read everyone’s work first, and then we go hear their readings or watch them on YouTube,” Foust said. “Because we’re looking for poets who are strong on the stage as well as strong on the page.”
Poetry World Series emcee Daniel Handler, author of the beloved children’s novel series, “A Series of Unfortunate Events,” delivers a unique stage presence of his own. He deftly keeps the show moving by quipping about the “competition,” while also expressing reverence for the work.
It’s a winning combination, likely because of Handler’s sincerity—he has a passion for poetry.
“The Poetry World Series is something I love doing,” Handler said. “You get to hear from a variety of poets who are approaching their work from all kinds of different angles. And then there’s a goofball competition going on on top of it that makes the whole thing super lively and unpretentious.”
Still, Handler realizes that some may be wary to come out for an evening of poetry. We asked him to give the uninitiated a stanza or two of inspiration.
“You’re kind of asking a heroin addict what they get out of drugs,” Handler joked. “I mean, I read poetry every day. It’s a great thing to read instead of an article about upsetting circumstances that you already know about and can’t do anything about. It’s a better thing to read than figuring out who you want to text while you’re waiting for a bus or an appointment.”
“And for the work that I do, it’s a great way to keep my brain in the inventive and imaginative space that poetry enjoys,” he continued. “Yeah, I’m a convert and a proselytizer in the world of poetry, and I try to get people into it who haven’t read it since someone made them in an academic setting. Because I think if you pick up a book of poetry and you read it a little bit, that you will actually have a great time.”
Seriously, who can resist that pitch? Begin with baby steps by getting over to the Mill Valley Public Library on Friday for the Poetry World Series. The all-star lineup includes poets Armen Davoudian, Luiza Flynn-Goodlett, Christian Gullette, Michal “MJ” Jones, Mia Ayumi Malhotra and Yaccaira Salvatierra, with umpire duties shouldered by Randall Mann and Julia Levine.
And don’t forget the added perks—free popcorn and beer.
“Poetry and alcohol have worked together for thousands of years,” Handler said. “And Mill Valley is no exception.”
The Poetry World Series is at 7pm on Friday, April 25 at the Mill Valley Public Library. Pregame refreshments begin at 6:30pm. Adults and high school students only. Admission is free, but seating is limited. Register at bit.ly/poetry-world-series.
