As part of their term as Seattle Civic Poet, Dujie has hosted “Salonshops” with civic and elected leaders as well as citizen boards and commissions. During Salonshops, participants read poems as well as recently-passed or live legislation, exploring how both poetry- and policy-making share a vocation of language: collaborative, interpretive, and shared.
Dujie has hosted salonshops with Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, City Councilmembers Alexis Mercedes Rinck, and Dionne Foster, as well as the City of Seattle Renters Commission, Youth Commision, Urban Forestry Commission, Sweetened Beverage Tax Community Advisory Board, and more.
Salonshop w/ Seattle City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck
June 9, 2026 @ Common Area Maintenance
Photos by Sarah Kusz.
Poems & policy discussed:
– Lena Khalaf Tuffaha’s “To Be Self-Evident”
– Diana Di Prima’s “Revolutionary Letter No. 29”
– Danusha Laméris’ “Small Kindness”
– City of Seattle Resolution 32202 re: next steps after the forensic evaluation of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA)
Salonshop w/ Seattle City Councilmember Dionne Foster
March 10, 2026 @ Common Area Maintenance
Photos by Leo Carmona.
Poems & policy discussed:
- Mary Oliver’s “When Death Comes”
- Nikki Giovanni’s “A Poem for My Librarian, Mrs. Long”
- Emily Dickinson’s “[I felt a cleaving in my mind]”
- Solmaz Sharif’s “Look”
- City of Seattle Resolution 32194 reaffirming data and privacy protections for any person seeking or accessing City programs and services
Salonshop w/ Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson
April 20, 20206 @ Common Objects
Photos by Rodrigo Sanchez.
Poems and policy discussed:
- Bill Carty’s “South Lake Union”
- Marion Bell’s “Austerity”
- Martin Espada’s “Alabanza: In Praise of Local 100”
- Yehuda Amichai’s “The Diameter of the Bomb”
- City of Seattle Council Bill No. 121185 relating to the City’s response to homelessness
Salonshops w/ City of Seattle Boards and Commissions
Various dates @ locations across Seattle
At the meeting, Dujie facilitated poetry readings and reflection and created a shared, human-centered starting point that helped members connect across different lived experiences before moving into technical policy discussions. The poetry offered a different kind of language that made space for nuance, emotion, and values, which was a great way for the CAB to enter conversations about the budget process and their 2026 workplan. I think [the salonshop] helped members enter these conversations with more openness, curiosity, and a stronger sense of shared purpose. —Sugary Beverage Tax Community Advisory Board Staff Liaison
Seattle Civic Poet Inauguration
3/25/25 @ City Hall
The first-ever Seattle Civic Poet inauguration ceremony marked the commencement of a Dujie’s two-year term as Seattle Civic Poet.
I have spent the whole of my adult life imagining myself into our citizenry, despite what my country has told me about myself. So before aesthetics, I belong to an ethical tradition of poetry without which I am nowhere. Alone, I am not real. I insist that I am not alone. I insist that there are people I owe. You are who I owe. You are who I love. Safety is not a place but a language, a series of relationships we agree to, a reality we apprehend together.
Dujie’s full remarks can be read at The Stranger or viewed on the Seattle Channel. Additional Remarks were given by Mayor Bruce Harrell, outgoing Civic Poet Shin Yu Pai, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture Director Gülgün Kayim, Head Seattle Public Librarian Tom Fay, and Seattle City of Literature Board President José Luis Montero.
Photos by Leo Carmona and Troy Osaki.