Palm Beach Poetry Festival

07/08/2022

Big news: We're going through some major changes here at the festival with a change of venue and a hiatus to regroup this next year, but thankfully, an old friend is stepping in to help by taking on the role of President. Starting this month, poet Nickole Brown, a long-time devotee who has been traveling to Delray nearly every year since 2005 to join our gathering, will begin her work for the festival. Drawing from over twenty years’ experience in independent publishing as well as her devotion to teaching creative writing and organizing literary events, Nickole will do all she can to strengthen the festival’s operations and figure how it might adapt to meet the needs of a challenging landscape.

As Nickole said, “Because of the gifts of the Palm Beach Poetry Festival, I’ve come into my own as a poet and teacher, and this is my way to pay back what I’ve received. It’s my aim to assure that what Miles started—along with the help of his dear friends, poets Thomas Lux and Kurt Brown—continues to evolve and thrive. I want to see the Festival continue to provide the kind of nurturing community I’ve found there, a true home for any poet serious about words and what they can do in the world.”

07/02/2022

Thank you for your kind condolences and remembrance. Miles was truly thrilled to include you for Gregory Orr's The Beloved Poetry & Song Cycle in the first virtual festival in 2021.

The 17th Annual Virtual Palm Beach Poetry Festival was held January 18-23, 2021, for the first time, on Zoom. The festival featured workshops, readings, craf...

06/20/2022

What are we to do now, without our Miles? It's hard to say, but it's our hope—and we believe Miles would agree—that the best way forward is to gather in his honor to fill a room with poetry. We hope you'll come celebrate his work and his life on Wednesday, August 17, from 7:00-8:30 pm, ET. Many of the poets who have known him throughout the years—including Laure-Anne Bosselaar, Sally Bliumis-Dunn, Traci Brimhall, Nickole Brown, Chard deNiord, Jessica Jacobs, Campbell McGrath, Spencer Reece, Tim Seibles, and Eleanor Wilner—will be there to share their remembrances as well as read poems from his long-awaited debut collection. We'll also be joined by the Poetry Editors at Press 53, Christopher Forrest and Kevin Morgan Watson, as well as members of Miles' family, including his wife Mimi, son Matthew, daughter Jennifer, grandson Elias, and brother-in-law Lennie. http://ow.ly/YMja50JB59K

05/23/2022

It is with deep sadness that we share the news that Festival Founder & President, Miles C**n, passed away peacefully on Saturday, May 21, 2022 in Palm Beach. He leaves behind his loving family, including his wife Mimi, son Matthew, daughter Jennifer, and grandson Elias. His biography is on our website: https://www.palmbeachpoetryfestival.org/news/miles-coon-1938-2022/. He found great joy in gathering all the poets together in South Florida at the festival which would not have been possible without his vision and leadership. https://conta.cc/3LFijFJ.

Poetry Brings Us Together Dear Friend of the Festival, It is with deep sadness that we report that our Festival Founder & President, Miles C**n, passed away peacefully on Saturday, May 21, 2022 in Pal

04/12/2022

Celebrating National Poetry Month is almost as exciting as preparing to welcome poets to Delray Beach for the 19th Annual Palm Beach Poetry Festival January 16-21, 2023. Save the dates! Stay tuned for details. http://ow.ly/4YWC50IHI3v

02/03/2022

How does a poem change the world? Listen to Patricia Smith recite her persona poem, "Skinhead," at the 11th Annual Palm Beach Poetry Festival in 2014. A close reading of the language and ideas of African-American poetry is how we celebrate Black HIstory Month. http://ow.ly/spbs50HKv88

02/02/2022

In the Q & A that followed his 2022 PBPF craft talk, Kwame Dawes elaborated on poetic craft: “I’ve taken comfort in the idea of craft as that thing I can work on and that seems more democratic. It seems to resist the sort of magic specialness of things we can’t control. I can’t control my family, my history, where I live, but if I practice my craft, the readiness will be there when the idea comes.” Let’s celebrate Black History Month by examining the language and ideas of African-American poets.

02/01/2022

"The dragon is in the street dancing beneath windows / pasted with colored squares," from Lynda Hull. The Palm Beach Poetry Festival sends you good wishes in celebration of the Lunar New Year. We usher out the Ox and welcome in the Tiger. Enjoy "Chinese New Year," at this link: http://ow.ly/JCpS50HIpyW

01/27/2022

We are grateful to Kwame Dawes for his wise craft talk, to Special Guest Yusef Komunyakaa’s for his illuminating interview and poems, and to Poet-at-Large Aimee Nezhukumatathil for her creative outreach to high school students and to us with her magic words. PBPF 2022 was a wondrous celebration of all things poetry! https://www.palmbeachpoetryfestival.org

01/26/2022

Thank you, Conference Faculty Poets Sally Bliumis-Dunn, Angela Narciso Torres, Nickole Brown, Lorna Knowles Blake, and Jessica Jacobs. Your readings and poet introductions made the festival a special week for everyone! http://ow.ly/ARSb50HBzNK

01/25/2022

Thank you to the Workshop Faculty Poets who made this year’s Festival a resounding success: Kim Addonizio, Laure-Anne Bosselaar, Chard DeNiord, Mark Doty, Yona Harvey, John Murillo, Matthew Olzmann, and Diane Seuss. We're filled with sprezzatura! http://ow.ly/mAR250HBxts

01/15/2022

https://conta.cc/3GyMJYe As this magical week flutters to a close, our Workshop Faculty poets read and discuss Beloved Poems, and Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Poet-at-Large, delivers A Reading to Remember. Buy your tickets here: https://conta.cc/3IUdesW

01/14/2022

https://conta.cc/3foVYOS Thank God It's Friday at the Festival! Why? I'll give you five reasons: Chard DeNiord, Matthew Olzmann, Laure-Anne Bosselaar, Mark Doty, and Sally Bliumis-Dunn. Buy your tickets here: https://conta.cc/3IUdesW

01/13/2022

https://conta.cc/3npiUBT It's another great day for poetry lovers! Join us for special events featuring Chard deNiord, Matthew Olzmann, Laure-Anne Bosselaar, Mark Doty and Sally Bliumis-Dunn, Purchase your tickets here: https://conta.cc/3IUdesW

01/12/2022

https://conta.cc/3HYaRUr Today is a great day at the Festival! Our events feature craft talks with the brilliant poets, Yona Harvey and John Murillo, and the Thomas Lux Memorial Reading delivered by the iconic Yusef Komunyakaa. Buy your tickets here: https://conta.cc/3IUdesW

01/11/2022

https://conta.cc/3Feu7LB Today's festival events feature Mark Doty, Kwame Dawes, Yusef Komunyakaa, Laure-Anne Bosselaar, Kim Addonizio, Chard DeNiord, Matthew Olzmann, and Lorna Knowles Blake. Visit our schedule and purchase your tickets here: https://conta.cc/3IUdesW

01/10/2022

https://conta.cc/3f8Bz0m Join us for tonight's Conference Faculty Reading with poets Sally Bliumis-Dunn, Angela Narciso Torres, NIckole Brown, Jessica Jacobs, and Lorna Knowles Blake at 8:00 pm ET. Register for your free ticket here: https://conta.cc/32PHIMx

01/06/2022

Congratulations to our distinguished 2022 Fellows and Scholars! We look forward to welcoming them next week to the 18th Annual Festival workshops and special events. To learn more about them, click on this link: http://ow.ly/TctY50HmU2x

01/05/2022

It's crunch time, folks. The 18th Annual Palm Beach Poetry Festival is at your doorstep. Whether you plan to snack on popcorn or potato chips, make sure to buy tickets now to our special poetry events. http://ow.ly/ExFJ50HmbiR

01/04/2022

Where will you be on Thursday, January 13th between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm? At Haiku U in the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, of course, learning how to write senryu with Poet Yaddyra Perralta. Don't miss this collaboration between the museum and the festival. http://ow.ly/WSNC50HmhZp

01/01/2022

https://conta.cc/3FKDVhL Start the new year with a diet of great poems. Better for the soul than chicken soup! Buy your tickets now to our many special events, January 10-15th. https://conta.cc/3IUdesW

12/30/2021

Enjoy the inspiring words of Conference Faculty Poets Lorna Knowles Blake, Sally Bliumis-Dunn, Nickole Brown, Jessica Jacobs, and Angela Narciso Torres at their free reading on January 10th at 8:00 pm. Their reading last year was terrific. Reserve your ticket now: http://ow.ly/aBUh50HjZry

12/29/2021

Repeat after us: The best resolution for 2022 is to experience the magic of poetry and attend as many Palm Beach Poetry Festival events as possible. Perfect! Browse through the schedule of January events and buy your tickets now: http://ow.ly/ws9N50HjvEA

12/23/2021

Chard deNiord and Matthew Olzmann always deliver the goods in their craft talks. Join them on January 14th at 2:00 pm for their imaginative, intelligent discussions of poetics. Read the descriptions, and buy your ticket now at the following link: http://ow.ly/Jr2M50HeYpr

12/22/2021

Follow the bright light of poetic stars, Yona Harvey and John Murillo, straight to their original craft talks on poetics, Wednesday, January 12th, at 2:00 pm. Purchase your ticket to illumination at this link: http://ow.ly/vtOc50HeYk7

12/21/2021

Is the risk of sentimentality worth the pleasure? When it comes to the holiday season or writing poems about dogs, the answer is a resounding yes! Do not miss Mark Doty's craft talk (along with Kwame Dawes’s) on Tuesday, January 11th, at 2:00 pm. Buy a ticket now at the following link: http://ow.ly/qfoL50HeY6h

12/16/2021

What do Kim Addonizio, Laure-Anne Bosselaar, Chard DeNiord Mark Doty, and Matthew Olzmann have in common? The festival’s past and future. All returning as 2022 Workshop Faculty. Do not miss their craft talks and readings. Visit our schedule. http://ow.ly/oyFE50H9rua

12/15/2021

In his poem, “Facing It,” 2022 Special Guest Yusef Komunyakaa reflects on the Vietnam War and race at the Maya Lin memorial. We thank him for his penetrating gaze. Poetry speaks the truth. Listen. http://ow.ly/fj8r50H9pjl

12/14/2021

https://conta.cc/3ys5RDX Poetry warms the spirit and brightens the days, as we edge toward winter solstice. Help us ward off the darkness by making a donation. Visit our 2022 schedule and plan to enjoy the wealth of poetry events coming your way. https://conta.cc/3IUdesW

12/10/2021

Tickets are on sale for All 2022 Evening Readings. Our Poet-at-Large, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, gives A Reading To Remember. Don’t miss the brilliance of this nature lover’s poems, and don’t forget to buy individual tickets or an all readings package at the following link: http://ow.ly/KF8650H4COH

12/09/2021

Tickets are on sale now for All 2022 Craft Talks. Take Lipstick on the Canon with Addonizio and Seuss, for example. When Kim Addonizio and Diane Seuss discuss sonnets, everybody listens. Mwah! Buy individual tickets or a craft talks package at the following link: http://ow.ly/Xh8R50H4AW8

12/08/2021

Tickets for All 2022 Festival Events are on sale now, notably Special Guest Yusef Komunyakaa's interview by Laure-Anne Bosselaar and his delivery of the Thomas Lux Memorial Reading. Komunyakaa is an iconic American poet and mentor to many writers in the poetry community. Buy individual event tickets or an events ticket package by clicking on the following link: http://ow.ly/2H7R50H4zVC

12/08/2021

Save yourself some money by purchasing one of our three ticket packages: a 2022 All Events Package; a 2022 All Evening Readings Package; or a 2022 All Craft Talks Package. Consider it an early holiday present to yourself and your loved ones http://ow.ly/wk3V50H4sEH

12/06/2021

https://conta.cc/3lIjYjq Tickets on sale now for all 2022 Palm Beach Poetry Festival Events! Make an early New Year’s resolution to put yourself on a literary diet that yields results. https://conta.cc/2ZXU1Vp

12/02/2021

Looking forward to the appearance of 2022 Special Guest Yusef Komunyakaa? Enjoy the Beloved Sounds of 2021 while you wait. http://ow.ly/1uFy50H1OQX

12/01/2021

Ilya Kaminsky and Dana Levin enjoyed the brilliance of their fellow presenting poets at the 2020 Festival. Event Tickets for the 18th Annual Festival, January 10-15, 2022, will be available for purchase shortly on our website. Stay tuned. You can’t afford to miss being wowed!

11/30/2021

Giving Tuesday is a grace note to Thanksgiving. Won't you support our ongoing mission to present world-class poetry events featuring America's finest poets? Please make a donation today. https://conta.cc/3d18h2I https://conta.cc/3HRWdPj

11/25/2021

"The gifts of earth are brought and prepared, set on the table. So it has been since creation, and it will go on.”—from “Perhaps the World End Here” by Joy Harjo, 2020 Special Guest Poet and U.S. Poet Laureate. It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without this poem. http://ow.ly/pwgN50GUkKz

11/24/2021

"We walk upon the unwalked. But we are uneasy. / Who is down there but our old teachers?” from Robert Bly (1926-2021). Today, we express gratitude for the life and words of this singular poet.
http://ow.ly/H0MN50GUiK2

11/23/2021

Chard deNiord, 2022 Workshop Faculty, continues to champion the poetry of the late Ruth Stone and a new documentary about her. Read about it. Thanks to poets who support each other! http://ow.ly/FHom50GRjAQ