Poetry719 is a community poetry organization in Colorado Springs that fosters and supports the freedom of expression through the written and spoken word. We focus on uplifting and celebrating voices of marginalized communities and people of color. As a black run organization, we aim to create safe, inclusive, and accessible events for all. We put on 3-4 events a month including open mics, discussion pannels, movie showings, volunteer opportunities with nonprofits, and themed poetry nights. Our tag line is “Art Aint Free” and we pride ourselves on paying artists and providing performance opportunities for local artist.

Our call back is “We do Stuff” and we aim to do stuff for the whole community. We invite you to join us at our events, meet our community, and be inspired by poetry.

We were founded as a small Facebook group in 2009 and became an event and community engagement group in 2018. We believe that everyone’s voice is valuable, important, and deserves to be heard. Our events focus on but are not limited too various topics such as spirituality, womxn of color, toxic masculinity, grief and loss, as well as our longest-running event, Colorado Black Voices Matter, which won the “Recurring Poetry Event” award from the Pikes Peak Arts Council in 2018. We also put together an annual poetry festival in October that highlights the amazing artistic talent Colorado Springs has to offer.

Written By Ashley Cornelius