PB Poetry Festival To Feature Three State Poets Laureate At 14th Annual Festival In Delray Beach

Miles Coon, Founder of the Palm Beach Poetry Festival (PBPF), today announced that the 14th annual Festival, scheduled for January 15-20 at Old School Square in Delray Beach, will feature craft talks and readings by three distinguished State Poets Laureate:

+ Chard DeNiord, Poet Laureate of Vermont, will give a craft talk on Tuesday, January 16, at 2 pm titled, "From First Thought to First Draft: The Making of a Poem." For members of the public and for writers of poetry, this talk will convey what goes into the creation of a poem, and should help foster a greater appreciation of poetry. Two hours later, he will interview Special Guest Poet Coleman Barks. In addition, DeNiord will be one of three featured poets at the Festival's Finale Reading on Saturday, January 20 at 8 pm.

+ Beth Ann Fennelly, Poet Laureate of Mississippi, will give a craft talk on Friday, January 19 at 2 pm titled, "A Hummingbird of Words: The Micro-Memoir," and she'll be featured at the Festival's Kick-Off Reading on Tuesday, January 16, at 8 pm, along with two other faculty poets, Aimee Nezhukumatathil and Ross Gay. "Poetry can be a rough-and-tumble game, but still safer than the NFL, so don't miss our Kick-Off," urges Coon.

+ Tim Seibles, Poet Laureate of Virginia, will give a craft talk on Tuesday, January 16 at 2 pm titled, "Monkey Mind: From Restless to Revelation." He will also join DeNiord and participating poet Gabriella Calvocoressi for the Festival's finale reading on January 20 at 8 pm. Coon describes Calvocoressi as "one of the most exciting young voices in poetry today."

All craft talks and readings take place in the Crest Theatre at Old School Square, 51 N Swinton Avenue in Delray Beach. For tickets, please call the Crest Theatre Box Office at 561 243-7922, ext. 1, or order online at www.palmbeachpoetryfestival.org/tix.

"For 14 years now, the Palm Beach Poetry Festival has brought America's greatest poets to Palm Beach County," says Coon. "Even if someone hates poetry, he/she will love this festival. Why? Because these days, great joy can be found in the company of people who believe that language matters. I invite everyone to join us and find the fun of great poetry."

Note: Books by each featured poet will be on sale in the on-site Festival Bookstore where the poets will sign their books following every reading.

"The Palm Beach Poetry Festival is honoring Thomas Lux at a special tribute to his life, his poems and his teaching that have had such a profound effect on the lives of so many people," adds Miles Coon. "He was the most generous man I've ever known. Without Tom's help, this Festival would never have been started, let alone grown the way it has with his guidance."

About the Palm Beach Poetry Festival 2018:

The 14th annual Palm Beach Poetry Festival will be held next January 15-20 at Old School Square in Delray Beach. The Festival features top poets at numerous ticketed public events, including readings, talks, interviews, panel discussions and more. Nine workshops will be offered for which applications are required. Special Guest Poet will be Coleman Barks, a major poet and the world's leading translator of the 13th century poet Rumi, the founder of Sufism.

The distinguished poets who will lead poetry-writing workshops at the Festival include Laure-Anne Bosselaar, Gabrielle Calvocoressi, Chard deNiord, Beth Ann Fennelly, Ross Gay, Rodney Jones, Aimee Nezhukumatathil and Tim Seibles. The faculty poets will be featured at 12 public events including craft talks, a panel discussion, and evening readings. Individual conferences will be provided by nationally acclaimed poets Lorna Knowles Blake, Sally Bliumis-Dunn and Nickole Brown. In addition, powerful performance poets Elizabeth Acevedo and Aja Monet will be featured at four local high schools and, on Friday evening, January 19, at the Crest Theatre. On January 20 at 4:30 pm, there will be a Special Tribute to Poet Thomas Lux, a longtime supporter of the Festival who passed away earlier this year.

The 2018 Palm Beach Poetry Festival is sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture; Morgan Stanley & The Legacy Group of Atlanta; the Cultural Council of Palm County, the Palm Beach County Tourism Development Council and the Board of Commissioners of Palm Beach County; The Palm Beach Post; Visit Florida; WLRN; and Murder on the Beach, Delray Beach's independent bookseller.

For more information about the Palm Beach Poetry Festival, please visit www.palmbeachpoetryfestival.org.