Inspired by Blue, a DC Poet Project reading

The mission of Day Eight is to empower individuals and communities to participate in the arts through the production, publication, and promotion of creative projects.

Day Eight

Join poets Susan Scheid, Brandon Douglas, and Micki Topham, for a reading and open mic, including a $250 open mic prize!

2026 DC Poet Project reading series

Day Eight’s 2026 DC Poet Project poetry series will begin Thursday, February 12th, 2026. The series, curated by Regie Cabico, is set to feature twelve exceptional DC-area poets in four reading series events.

This is the second event in Day Eight’s 2026 DC Poet Project reading series and competition. Each event includes about thirty minutes of poetry by the featured poets and equal time for reading by open mic participants. A $250 open mic prize, selected by the featured poets, is awarded at the end of each reading. Anyone can perform in the open mic; Only DC residents are eligible to win the cash prize. Founded in 2017, The DC Poet Project is a poetry series and open-to-all poetry competition culminating in publication of a new book of poetry by a DC author. Each event includes reading by featured poets and an open mic. And at each series event a judge awards a $250 cash prize to a winning open mic participant. Those winners are invited to compete in the culminating event to win a $1,000 book contract. The 2025 DC Poet Project series is curated by Regie Cabico, and hosted by Aaron Holmes, and is produced by Day Eight through the support of individual donors and support from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and partnership with the Anacostia Coordinating Council. ABOUT THE FEATURED POETS Susan Scheid is the author of the poetry books True Blue (Finishing Line Press, 2026) and After Enchantment. Scheid’s poetry has appeared in The Southern Quill, Blue Heron Review, The Mid-Atlantic Review, The Orchards Poetry Journal, Burgeon Press, Gargoyle, About Place Journal, Truth to Power, Beltway Poetry Quarterly, Little Patuxent Review, The Sligo Journal, Silver Birch Press, Tidal Basin Review, and other journals. Her work is also included in the anthologies, Poetic Art, Enchantment of the Ordinary, and Dear Vaccine: Global Voices Speak to the Pandemic. Scheid served for a number of years as the Board co-chair for Split This Rock. She lives in the Brookland neighborhood of Washington, DC. Brandon Douglas is the 2023 winner of The DC Poet Project and author of the book Dipped in Cerulean (Day Eight, 2023.) Father of two young girls, Douglas works as a poet educator in schools, detention centers, and community centers. He began writing raps in middle school and later melded poetry and hip hop into spoken word compositions. Prince George’s County poet laureate Khadijah Ali-Coleman described Dipped in Cerulean, “Navigates the waters of deep parental love, social justice, and the Black experience with gentle honesty, thoughtful reflection and jolting sensitivity.” Micki Topham is a poet and spoken word artist originally from a rural, one-stoplight town in Utah. Micki uses her creativity to explore themes of identity, faith, family, and mental health. She won the 2022 S’more Poetry Slam and the 2023 Smooth Grooves and Spoken Word Poetry Slam. In 2024, she found the courage to come out as a trans woman and that same year she and her 3-year-old border collie braved the 2,400 mile drive to Washington D.C. where she is living her dream life as a big city girl. In 2025 she joined the Mid-Atlantic Review as an assistant editor. THE CULMINATING EVENT OF THE 2026 DC POET PROJECT: SUNDAY MAY 3, 2-3:30PM At THE ANACOSTIA LIBRARY ​​The 2026 DC Poet Project series will culminate in person at a special reading Sunday, May 3 at 2:00 pm, including the open mic winners as selected at the prior events. At the conclusion of the event, attendees will live vote to select one poet to receive a $1,000 book contract. PAST WINNERS OF THE DC POET PROJECT 2025 DC Poet Project winner Malachi Byrd, author of <a href="https://day-eight-books.myshopify.com/products/before-we-gone-by-malachi-byrd" title="https://day-eight-books.myshopify.com/products/before-we-gone-by-malachi-byrd" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Before We Gone</a>2024 DC Poet Project winner Amuchechukwu Nwafor, author of <a href="https://day-eight-books.myshopify.com/products/salt-water-roots-by-amuchechukwu-nwafor" title="https://day-eight-books.myshopify.com/products/salt-water-roots-by-amuchechukwu-nwafor" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Salt Water Roots</a>2023 DC Poet Project winner Brandon Douglas, author of <a href="https://day-eight-books.myshopify.com/products/dipped-in-cerulean-by-brandon-douglas" title="https://day-eight-books.myshopify.com/products/dipped-in-cerulean-by-brandon-douglas" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Dipped in Cerulean</a>2022 DC Poet Project winner Dominic McDonald, author of <a href="https://day-eight-books.myshopify.com/products/id-rather-be-called-a-nerd-by-dominic-nerd-mcdonald" title="https://day-eight-books.myshopify.com/products/id-rather-be-called-a-nerd-by-dominic-nerd-mcdonald" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">I’d Rather Be Called a Nerd</a>2021 DC Poet Project winner Jenn Koiter, author of <a href="https://day-eight-books.myshopify.com/products/so-much-of-everything-by-jenn-koiter" title="https://day-eight-books.myshopify.com/products/so-much-of-everything-by-jenn-koiter" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">So Much of Everything</a>2019 DC Poet Project winner Kevin Wiggins, author of <a href="https://day-eight-books.myshopify.com/products/port-of-exit-by-kevin-wiggins" title="https://day-eight-books.myshopify.com/products/port-of-exit-by-kevin-wiggins" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Port of Exit</a>2018 DC Poet Project winner John Johnson, author of <a href="https://day-eight-books.myshopify.com/products/love-for-her-by-john-johnson" title="https://day-eight-books.myshopify.com/products/love-for-her-by-john-johnson" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Love for Her</a>2017 DC Poet Project winner Susan Meehan, author of <a href="https://day-eight-books.myshopify.com/products/talking-to-the-night-by-susan-meehan" title="https://day-eight-books.myshopify.com/products/talking-to-the-night-by-susan-meehan" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Talking to the Night</a>

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Inspired by Blue, a DC Poet Project reading

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