Poet Tree Town is a grassroots organization that aims to uplift local poets.
Every year, Poet Tree Town puts out a call for work around January and accepts submissions between mid-February and the beginning of March. This year, submissions were open from Jan. 15 to March 1, 2026. Poet Tree Town accepts all poems, given that they are not hateful or violent in nature.
Poems are displayed on 11-by-17-inch posters at various businesses throughout Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor during April to celebrate National Poetry Month.
This year marks 30 years of National Poetry Month, which started in 1996.
Though poems are only on display through April, they are available online year-round on social media, and audio recordings of each poem are available on SoundCloud.
“It's really just to uplift local artists, show that poetry is something that can be free, and accessible, approachable, show just a variety of voices, and you know, it's not something to be scared of, or something that is, like, strictly academic. Poetry's all around us, and within us, too,” said Cam Finch, founder and organizer of Poet Tree Town.
Started in 2023, this is Poet Tree Town’s fourth year working with local businesses to promote local creative writers. The organization has grown larger each year. This year, Poet Tree Town will be displaying 240 poems in 76 different locations, with 19 of those locations in Ypsilanti.
Poet Tree Town was inspired by a similar organization called Poem City, where Finch participated during their time in graduate school in Vermont. They were inspired to start Poet Tree Town after experiencing the loneliness of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“My goal is to connect, gather people. I just crave gathering people together, for the sake of poetry and art, and not being silent," Finch said.
The organization, which originated in Ann Arbor, was named for the city's affectionate nickname, Tree Town, dubbed for its dense canopy of trees. With the group's efforts to spread poems throughout Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, the name also lives up to its double meaning of Poetry Town.
"It's a big labor of love and passion project. It's become my life," Finch said.
For more information about Poet Tree Town, a map of poem locations and more, visit Poet Tree Town on Instagram @poettreetown_a2 or on Facebook, at Poet Tree Town A2.
