PEOPLE'S POETRY GATHERING to Transform Lower Manhattan with 47 Events

City Lore, Bowery Poetry and Poets House are proud to join together in presenting the 2026 People's Poetry Gathering in conjunction with “Of the People: The Smithsonian Festival of Festivals,” which celebrates and considers the 250th anniversary of the United States.

The Gathering begins on October 18, 2026 and continues through November 1, 2026. With a program encompassing 47 events at 13 venues, the festival features 120 poets and 40 musicians and transforms lower Manhattan into a poetry village. This special iteration of the People's Poetry Gathering underscores the power of poetry and the vitality of New York's cultural community. City Lore's curators are Steve Zeitlin, Sahar Muradi and Bob Holman.

For full calendar and descriptions of events please see: https://citylore.org/peoples-poetry-gathering/

Joining together with our New York partners while participating in “Of the People: The Smithsonian Festival of Festivals” puts us in communion with our national peers, as we celebrate and contemplate the 250th anniversary of the United States and pay tribute to the many diverse voices which comprise and have enriched our nation's cultural landscape. The Peoples Poetry Gathering is produced in collaboration with the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage at the Smithsonian Institution.

The People's Poetry Gathering, founded as a biennial event in 1999 by City Lore and Poets House, with Bowery Poetry joining soon after, assembles poets from New York City and beyond to pursue discourse, exchange, and cultural preservation through poetry. This year, the Gathering returns to Lower Manhattan for the first time in twenty years. It will feature performances and workshops by an array of artists, including Indigenous, folk, youth, and literary poets and musicians, as well as collaborations with iconic venues, and free writing workshops.

People's Poetry Gathering Highlights:

10/18 -– “Alabanza! A Tribute to the Nuyorican Poets Cafe / A Praise Day for Sandra Maria Estevez.' An all-out celebration party hosted by La Bruja and dedicated to the Nightingale Who Wished You Luck, Café legend Sandra Maria Estevez Among the poetry stars: Américo Casiano, Lois Griffith, Lemon, Tito Lespier, Felipe Luciano, Mariposa, Nancy Mercado Sheila Maldonado, Papoleto Melendez, Edwin Torres. With very live Bomba y Plena performance by Matthew Gonzalez and Kinto Zono. Y mas! @ La Tea Theater, Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center, 107 Suffolk Street, Manhattan

10/22 – “Masquerade of Metaphors: Embody Your Favorite Poem - A Poetry Costume Party” hosted by the Illustrious Pearl. Come dressed as your favorite poem or poet – be as literal or figurative or alliterative as you'd like. There will also be a dedicated Poetry Pageant Presentation, where you can sashay your simile and walk your poetic attire with a short recitation. Sign up at the link –– Howl Gallery, 6 E. First St., Manhattan.

10/23 – “Praise Day for Sonia Sanchez!' The legendary group Sweet Honey in the Rock joins Tracy K. Smith, Danez Smith, Jessica Care Moore, and Ursula Rucker to honor the 'Poet Laureate of the Planet!' Yolanda Wisher hosts, with special appearances by Ama Birch, LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs, Cornelius Eady, and Pamela Sneed. –– The Great Hall at Cooper Union, 7 E. 7th St, Manhattan.

10/25 – “Poetry & Song: Joy Harjo Band & the Cornelius Eady Group.' Indigenous Jazz Rock of the Joy Harjo Band, Contemporary Blues w/ the Cornelius Eady Group. A rare musical appearance with Joy on poetry and sax! Inaugural poet Cornelius Eady fronts his avant blues trio. –– St. Marks Church, 131 E. 10th St, Manhattan.

10/27 – “Zingeray: a Yiddish Folksong Gathering' featuring: Sarah Gordon, Esther Gottesman, Jerry Marcus, Josh Waletzky, & Eleonore Weill. Join us for a showcase of the rich heritage of Yiddish folksong. The program will feature leading contemporary Yiddish singers in a traditional song-sharing session performing unaccompanied. Zingerayn (song-sharing gatherings) developed during the 20th century within the linke (politically progressive) Yiddish-speaking community in homes and summer retreats, and such gatherings continue today. Curated by the Center for Traditional Music and Dance. –– City Lore, 56 E. First Street, Manhattan.

10/30 - “In Isolation, Language Dies on the Tongue”: Poet as Witness. Naomi Shihab Nye, Kwame Dawes, Uche Nduka, Jimin Seo, Heid E. Erdrich, Camonghne Felix, Lena Khalaf Tuffaha, and Anselm Berrigan read poems of persecuted poets. –– Poets House, 10 River Terrace, Manhattan.

10/31- “Halloween Special: Channeling Edgar Allen Poe in the Historic Marble Cemetery' with Toni Blackman, Bob Holman, and Denize Lauture. A Night of Nightmares: Ghosts and Poems by Edgar Allan Poe and others in historic Marble Cemetery with Toni Blackman as 'The Raven' and Bob Holman reading a newly discovered poem by EAP, 'Brain Fever,' and the inimitable Haitian poet, Denize Lauture reading 'Annabel Lee'. –– New York City Marble Cemetery, 60 East 2nd Street (between 1st Ave & 2nd Ave), Manhattan.