2018 Massachusetts Poetry Festival has ended

Create Your Own Event

2018 Massachusetts Poetry Festival

10 YEARS OF MASS POETRY!

Our 2018 headliners: Sonia Sanchez · Kaveh Akbar · Duy Doan · Jeffrey Harrison · Dorianne Laux · Erika Meitner · Carl Phillips · Nicole Sealey · Sean Thomas Dougherty · Rhina P. Espaillat

Purchase your button today at masspoetry.org/festival2018!

1:15pm

Circling the Earth: The Poetry of Refuge and Sanctuary Hawthorne Hotel, Sophia RoomFILLINGDeborah Leipziger • Melissa Castillo-Garsow • Robbie Gamble • Gloria Mindock • Yermiyahu Ahron Taub Poetry of Place: Boston Hawthorne Hotel, Library RoomFILLINGRuby Poltorak • Kevin Bowen • Charles Coe • Regie Gibson • Holly Guran Personified: Finding Your Voice in Someone Else's Hawthorne Hotel, Skylark RoomFULLTaylor Liljegren Resisting the Erasure of Our (Im)Migrant Roots: Workshop with María Luisa Arroyo Old Town Hall, 2nd floorLIMITEDMaria Luisa Arroyo

2:30pm

Circling the square: Joyful (and helpful) critique workshop Hawthorne Hotel, Skylark RoomFILLINGMelissa Varnavas Headline Reading - Rhina P. Espaillat Hawthorne Hotel, Library RoomFULLRhina P. Espaillat Golden Walkman Old Town Hall, 2nd floorFILLINGDavid Walker • Joseph Gould Poets on Poetry: An Ars Poetica Workshop Hawthorne Hotel, Sophia RoomFILLINGMarjorie Tesser • Jennifer Jean • Jennifer Martelli

3:30pm

Poetry Meet-Up! Adriatic Restaurant and BarMichael Ansara • Laurin Macios • January O'Neil • Sara Siegel

3:45pm

In the Still of the Night Hawthorne Hotel, Library RoomFILLINGDara Wier • Holly St. John Bergon • James Haug • Kate Lindroos FDU MFA Poets: This Time It's Terminal Hawthorne Hotel, Skylark RoomFILLINGKevin Carey • R.G. Evans • Mark Hillringhouse The Modern Devotional Hawthorne Hotel, Sophia RoomFULLJusten Ahren • M R Baird • Sue Scavo • Karla Van Vliet

7:30pm

Headline Reading - Dorianne Laux and Carl Phillips PEM AtriumFULLMalia Chung • Dorianne Laux • Carl Phillips

9:00pm

College Slammers Hawthorne Hotel, Library RoomLIMITEDDanielle Jones

9:30pm

Food 4 Thot - Live Podcast! Salem Waterfront Hotel, Ballroom 1LIMITEDKaveh Akbar • Dennis Norris II • Joseph Osmondson • Fran Tirado

8:45am

Poetry and Yoga Hawthorne Hotel, Essex RoomFULLCasey Roland • Stephanie Kirkos

9:30am

Forgotten Women: A Tribute in Poetry Hawthorne Hotel, Library RoomFILLINGGinny Lowe Connors • Christine Casson • Carol Dine • Jennifer Freed • Suellen Wedmore How Voice Finds Form: Making Our Narrative Poems Sing! Salem Waterfront Hotel, Ballroom 1FILLINGAlice Kociemba • Rhina P. Espaillat • Jacquelyn Malone • David Surette • Rich Youmans Suturing with Wounds: Writing Poems About Long Term Illness Hawthorne Hotel, Sophia RoomFILLINGSean Thomas Dougherty

10:30am

Breaking Through the Stigma: Writing Through Addiction and Recovery PEM Create SpacesFULLDonna Munro • Kaveh Akbar • Mary Akers • William Brewer • Nick Flynn • Wendy Mnookin

11:00am

In Transit: A Poetry Reading with Brionne Janae, Joseph Legaspi, Leah Umansky, and Jenny Xie Hawthorne Hotel, Library RoomFILLINGJoseph O. Legaspi • Brionne Janae • Leah Umansky • Jenny Xie Nasty Women Poets: A Reading and Panel Discussion of Unapologetic, Subversive, Feminist Verse Hawthorne Hotel, Sophia RoomFULLJenna Le • Janet Aalfs • Liz Ahl • DeMisty Bellinger • Lesléa Newman Satellites, Adoptees, and Undocumented Immigrants: Kundiman and UndocuPoets Present Underrepresented Asian American Narratives PEM Connect BLDGLIMITEDMarci Calabretta Cancio-Bello • Janine Joseph • E. J. Koh • Anni Liu • Ansley Moon Street Cred: Four Massachusetts Barrow Street Press Poets The Bridge at 211LIMITEDRichard Hoffman • Doug Anderson • Danielle Georges • Kevin McLellan Critical Collaboration: Poets and Editors Salem Waterfront Hotel, Compass RoomFILLINGWyn Cooper • Tina Cane • Karin Gottshall • Gregg LeStage Performers and Professors Hawthorne Hotel, Skylark RoomFILLINGMichael Brown • Richard Cambridge • Regie Gibson • Melissa Guillet • Valerie Lawson To Carry Across: Poetry in Translation Salem Waterfront Hotel, Ballroom 1LIMITEDDaniel Tobin • Rhina P. Espaillat • Aidan Rooney Poems out of Music New Liberty Charter School, Room 3FULLChristopher Nye Political/Civic Poetry New Liberty Charter School, Room 1FILLINGPaul Saint-Amand • Gayle C. Heney • C. J. Morse Small Press Fair and Literary Fair Pedestrian Walkway

12:15pm

3 Nations Anthology Reading: Native, Canadian & New England Writers Hawthorne Hotel, Library RoomLIMITEDValerie Lawson • Carol Hobbs • Paul Hostovsky • Sonja Johanson • Cheryl Savageau • David Surette KabuMerikanas: Women in Cape Verdean American Culture Hawthorne Hotel, Skylark RoomLIMITEDCandida Rose Baptista • Iva Brito • Jarita Davis Love's Executive Order Reading PEM Create SpacesLIMITEDMatthew Lippman • Tina Cane • Kerrin McCadden • Jill McDonough • Daniel Nester • Elizabeth Powell Through Barbed Wire Presents: Invisible Voices Salem Waterfront Hotel, Ballroom 2LIMITEDDianne Zimbabwe • Zella Brown • Kazi Toure Headline Reading-Kaveh Akbar and Nicole Sealey PEM Morse AuditoriumFILLINGKaveh Akbar • Hannah Larrabee • Nicole Sealey Labor & Delivery: Emerging Poets on Notions of Literary Success The Bridge at 211LIMITEDChen Chen • Cassandra de Alba • Kimberly Alidio • Mag Gabbert • Keegan Lester Poetry as Social Action: Panel Discussion, Hopeful Prompts Salem Waterfront Hotel, Ballroom 1FILLINGElisabeth Weiss Horowitz • Danielle Georges • Krysten Hill • Fred Marchant • Gloria Mindock Poets on Autism: Hope in the Helicopter Rain PEM Connect BLDGLIMITEDSean Thomas Dougherty • Susan Elmslie • Kamilah Aisha Moon • Oliver de la Paz Room 222: Boston University Poets & the Lineage of the Confessional Poem Salem Waterfront Hotel, Compass RoomLIMITEDFrederick Speers • Rachel E DeWoskin • Kirun Kapur • Jacob Strautmann The Poetry of Predation: Women Poets On Writing the Poetry of Misogyny, Abuse, and Violence Hawthorne Hotel, Sophia RoomLIMITEDSarah Sousa • Joyce Hayden • Sonja Johanson Memory and Redemption New Liberty Charter School, Room 3FILLINGPolly Brown Verbing: Writing Poetry from the Body New Liberty Charter School, Room 2FILLINGCathie Desjardins

2:00pm

Cave Canem PEM Connect BLDGLIMITEDLillian Bertram • Curtis Crisler • Jarita Davis • nicole terez dutton • Chanda Feldman We're Here, We're Queer: New Poetry Books by LGBTQ Writers Hawthorne Hotel, Library RoomLIMITEDLesléa Newman • Margot Douaihy • Joy Ladin • Steven Riel Headline Reading - Duy Doan, Jeffery Harrison, and Erika Meitner PEM Morse AuditoriumLIMITEDDuy Doan • Jeffrey Harrison • Erika Meitner Fathers, Present and Absent: Encounters, Enigmas, and Elegies Hawthorne Hotel, Sophia RoomFILLINGFred Marchant • Jennifer Barber • David Ferry • George Kalogeris • Raven Ramnath Salamander 25th Anniversary Reading The Bridge at 211LIMITEDJennifer Barber • Ben Berman • Danielle Georges • Kelle Groom Story Retold/Renewed: Women Retelling History Salem Waterfront Hotel, Ballroom 1LIMITEDGeorgia Popoff • Antoinette Brim • Kimberly A. Collins You Are Here: Writing From Your Place in History Salem Waterfront Hotel, Compass RoomFILLINGDanielle Jones • Jill McDonough • Nomi Stone Salvage & Adventure: Poetic Play, Remix, Erase, Collage and Assemble! PEM Create SpacesFILLINGChing-In Chen Start Right: Writing First Lines New Liberty Charter School, Room 1FILLINGDawn Paul What Big Words You Have: Using Fairy Tales in Your Poetry Hawthorne Hotel, Skylark RoomFULLMollie Chandler Blackout Poetry Creative Studio--Drop-in Session! New Liberty Charter School, Room 3LIMITEDCasey Roland

3:15pm

10th Anniversary of the UMass Boston MFA Program Hawthorne Hotel, Library RoomFILLINGLloyd Schwartz • Lillian-Yvonne Bertram • Jill McDonough Celebrating Our 25th: Four Way Books Reading The Bridge at 211LIMITEDVincent Guerra • Andrea Cohen • Miranda Field • Margaree Little • Kamilah Aisha Moon Common Threads PEM Connect BLDGFILLINGAlan Feldman • Kathleen Aguero • Linda Bamber • Erica Funkhouser • Jeffrey Harrison • Elizabeth McKim A Furious Din: Poetry of Survival PEM Create SpacesFULLTamiko Beyer • Duy Doan • Joseph O. Legaspi The Poetic Obsession Hawthorne Hotel, Sophia RoomFILLINGOliver de la Paz State of Poetry Salem Waterfront Hotel, Compass RoomFULLSimeon Berry • Amy Dryansky • Jennifer Jean • Jennifer Militello • Nomi Stone

7:30pm

Headline Reading -Sonia Sanchez The Bridge at 211FULLSonia Sanchez • Jocelyn Shen

9:30pm

What Poetry Means to Me: Stories about Poems, Poets, & Poetry Salem Waterfront Hotel, Ballroom 1FULLJ.D. Scrimgeour • Michael Ansara • Sean Thomas Dougherty • Krysten Hill • Alice Kociemba • Lisa Mangini

9:00am

Poetry Taboos and You: How and Why to Break the Rules (craft talk) Hawthorne Hotel, Sophia RoomFILLINGErika Meitner HER STORY IS: American & Iraqi Women Artists Collaborate in Dubai Hawthorne Hotel, Library RoomLIMITEDJennifer Jean • Anne Loyer • Amy Merrill • Lillie Paquette

10:15am

Bared: Poetry on Bras and Breasts Hawthorne Hotel, Sophia RoomFILLINGKathleen Aguero • Barbara Helfgott Hyett • Jill McDonough • Julie Danho O'Connell Building an Online Writing Community: Lessons from the Poetry Cleanse PEM Connect BLDGFILLINGK. T. Landon • Jane Poirier Hart • Jennifer Martelli • Jeanne Obbard • Rebecca Hart Olander On Our Own Terms: Underrepresented Voices in Poetry Hawthorne Hotel, Library RoomLIMITEDPilar Quintana • Dominique Cyprès • Nate Vaccaro • James St. Vincent The Poet, The Artist, The Printer: Book Arts and the Small Press PEM Create SpacesFILLINGJanet MacFadyen • Carlyn Marcus Ekstrom • Ed Rayher • Kate Stearns • Anna M. Warrock "all the Witchcraft that we need Around us, every Day—": Emily Dickinson and the botanical world Salem Witch Trials MemorialFULLMichael Medeiros • Lucy Abbott Reading and Writing Poetry as a Spiritual Practice Hawthorne Hotel, Skylark RoomFULLNadia Colburn

11:30am

Lesley MFA Poetry Faculty Reading Hawthorne Hotel, Sophia RoomFILLINGStephen Haven • Steven Cramer • Joan Houlihan The Low-Residency MFA: Is It Right for You? Hawthorne Hotel, Library RoomLIMITEDK. T. Landon • Victorio Reyes Asili • Greg Hill • Lauren Banks Killelea • Pamela Taylor Writing While Sober PEM Connect BLDGFILLINGKali Lightfoot • Richard Hoffman • Jennifer Martelli The Edna Project PEM Morse AuditoriumLIMITEDJoey Farber • Liz Queler Collaborative Writing: Solidarity, Strategy & Spark Hawthorne Hotel, Skylark RoomFULLRebecca Hart Olander • Elizabeth Paul Poetry From The Heart: Writing Poems as a Means to Heal in the Era of Trump PEM Create SpacesFILLINGEunice Flanders • Beth Platow

1:00pm

Reading with Martha Collins, Joan Houlihan, and Ellen Dore Watson PEM Morse AuditoriumLIMITEDJoan Houlihan The Word Works Hawthorne Hotel, Sophia RoomFILLINGKevin McLellan • Jennifer Barber • Carrie Bennett • Frannie Lindsay • Fred Marchant To the Bone: Poems of Work and Manual Labor PEM Connect BLDGFILLINGJulia Bouwsma • Kimberly Burwick • Sean Thomas Dougherty • Kevin Goodan Lesser Heard Voices East and West: Poetry in Translation PEM Create SpacesLIMITEDKristine Doll • Hassanal Abdullah • Stanley Barkan • Srinivas Reddy • William Wolak The Vocabulary of Place: Finding the Right Words for a Particular Setting. Learning from Sylvia Plath’s “Point Shirley”—A Generative Workshop Hawthorne Hotel, Skylark RoomFILLINGTom Daley

1:30pm

MASTER CLASS WITH LLOYD SCHWARTZ: Experimenting with Form Old Town Hall, 2nd floorLIMITEDLloyd Schwartz

2:30pm

The Shakespeare Time-Traveling Speakeasy PEM Morse AuditoriumLIMITEDRegie Gibson MASTER CLASS WITH GAIL MAZUR: Writing Out of Grief and Loss Hawthorne Hotel, Skylark RoomLIMITEDGail Mazur