Seattle's Poet Populist position was established in 1999 by then City Council President Nick Licata. Licata was inspired to create the position after attending a reading at Town Hall by U.S. poet laureate Robert Pinsky. A citywide popular vote was conducted to elect a Poet Populist after local poets were nominated by Seattle literary organizations. In 2007, the City hired Ampersand Arts (later Luna Park) to manage the program. In addition to support from the City of Seattle, the program received support from The Shunpike as well as Richard Hugo House, Seattle Arts & Lectures, Seattle Public Library, and Seattle Weekly.
Poet Populist winners included Barnard Harris, Jr. (1999-2001), Bart Baxter (2001–2002), Tara Hardy (2002–2003), Pesha Joyce Gertler (2005–2006), Jourdan Imani Keith (2006–2007), Cody Walker (2007–2008) and Mike Hickey (2008–2009). During the Poet Populist's term he/she had the responsibility of writing one commissioned poem, as well as promoting the art of poetry through various performances and teaching opportunities.
From 2009 to 2015, Seattle was without a Poet Populist due to budget shortfalls. In 2015, the Mayor announced the creation of a Civic Poet, and Claudia Castro Luna was the first to hold that position. The Civic Poet serves as an ambassador for Seattle’s rich literary landscape and represents Seattle’s diverse cultural community. Managed by the Office of Arts and Culture, the position receives a $10,000 stipend spread over two years. Civic Poets following Castro were Anastacia-Renée Tolbert (2017-2019), and Jourdan Imani Keith (2019-2021).
During his tenure on City Council (1998-2015), Councilmember Nick Licata instituted poetry readings before his committee meetings relating to the arts. The readings became known as the Words' Worth Poetry Program. Licata believed that the personal insight of poetry had the power to enlighten the routine of government. A guest poetry curator for Words' Worth was chosen every few months who, in turn, selected a number of poets to read their works before committee meetings. A full list of curators and poets, representing a rich universe of local poets, can be found on Archive-It.
This virtual collection brings together moving images of Word's Worth readings and other items relating to the history of the Civic Poet position in Seattle. Many local poets are featured including Jourdan Imani Keith, Judith Roche, Priya Keefe and many others. Also included are conversations with other poets including John Balaban, David Kirby, and Edward Hirsch in programs such as Windows on the Writing Life and others.