Palm Beach Poetry Festival

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.”

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.

Thomas Lux Memorial Reading with Gregory Orr and the Parkington Sisters 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...

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

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.

Sad News: Miles C**n (January 1938 - May 2022) 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

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

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.

"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

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

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

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

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

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