Cynthia Nixon delivers a brilliant characterization of the great American poet Emily Dickinson, who would not be recognized until after her death. Director Terence Davies poignantly evokes the cultural contexts of the period with which Dickinson struggled before finding transcendence in poetry. The film will be presented by Bonnie Bonincontri, Assistant Professor at Lynn University and editor of Quest, the university’s arts journal. Free   Read more >

Presented in collaboration with the Morikami Museum and Gardens, award-winning California poet Brynn Saito will discuss the zuihitsu, a form of prose-poetry writing that emerged during Japan’s 11th century. Closely translated as “following the brush,” zuihitsu collects observations, notes, personal feelings, and quotes in a seemingly random and associative manner, leading to surprising, poignant poetic expressions. Saito will discuss how this form—and how Japanese culture, more generally—informs her work. She will close with a short poetry reading, book signing, and Q&A. Morikami Entrance Fee: $10 ($7 for members) Note: All tickets are will-call and will be held at the theatre … Read more >

This event is being held in conjunction with Icons in Transformation, a traveling modern art exhibition featuring more than 100 contemporary works by Russian-Swedish abstract expressionist Ludmila Powlowska. The exhibit recalls the icons the artist had seen in Russian monasteries and is running at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church through April 7. Facilitator Stephen Gibson’s poetry workshop will be on Ekphrasis poetry, poems which focus on other works of art, like paintings, photography, or sculpture, as their subjects. Workshop participants will explore how Ekphrasis, rather than being solely description, can help to explore each individual poet’s sense of the world. $10 per … Read more >

Participants will navigate a scope of contemporary forms and practices with time dedicated to each: reading, class discussion, and freewriting. Students will be exposed to an eclectic range of work and asked to investigate what the mechanics of poems, the little engines of poems, are made of? The workshop will explore how images are constructed to create the world of the poem, how images build narratives, how words create worlds for the reader to reside within and create sensory experiences of the poem. How might a poem manipulate the reader’s mood, body sensations? Students will practice ways to create tension … Read more >

In this class, participants will look at how diverse poets have used references to other works, concepts and contexts from the world, imagery, sound and various tools of craft to deploy meanings that the reader will recognize and used these to create a context that allows the reader to gain a deeper understanding and a new perspective.  Students will directly apply these ideas through a variety of exercises exploring the ways they can bring such specific dimensions of the world into their poems while exploring ways of using these tools to communicate concepts and experiences more deeply to readers. Facilitator … Read more >

The Palm Beach Poetry Festival invites all Palm Beach County High School Students to send in one original poem. The winner will receive $200 and a pair of tickets to the Friday night Reading Event featuring 2018 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award recipient, Patricia Smith The four runners up will each receive $100 and a pair of tickets to Friday night Reading Event All winners receive a one-year subscription to Poets and Writers Literary Journal All of the prize-winning poems will be posted on the festival website: palmbeachpoetryfestival.org and will be included in press releases Prize winners will be invited to participate … Read more >

Descriptions of Craft Talks with Ilya Kaminsky & Dana Levin coming soon. Read more >

Readings with Dana Levin, Adrian Matejka, and Maggie Smith, followed by book signing in the Festival Book Store, Ocean Breeze Room in the Crest Theatre Building. Read more >

Descriptions of Craft Talks with Nickole Brown and Reginald Gibbons coming soon! Read more >

    The Gala is a fundraiser and celebration of all the poets at the festival, participants and featured poets. Admission is by invitation. Read more >