Palm Beach Poetry Festival Invites Local Poets & Poetry Lovers to Nine Special Events

Susan R. Williamson, Director of the Palm Beach Poetry Festival, and Dr. Blaise Allen, Director of Community Outreach, today invited local poets and poetry fans to nine upcoming special workshops and events:

MARCH

March 12 - 1 pm (Sunday)

Writing from Life:

A Close Look at the Work of Jack Gilbert

A Workshop with Visiting Poet Kevin Goodan

In this class, we will do a close reading of Jack Gilbert's, The Great Fires, and his essay "Real Nouns", in preparation for exercises that participants will do as a group to get the poetic pot churning.

Note: Goodan was raised in western Montana, and fought forest fires for ten seasons with the USFS, on the Lolo National Forest. An Associate Professor of English at Lewis-Clark State College, he is the author of In The Ghost-House Acquainted, Winter Tenor, Upper Level Disturbances, Let The Voices and the forthcoming Anaphora: an elegy.

Old School Square

51 N. Swinton Avenue in Delray Beach

$10 per person

March 15 - 12:30 pm (Wednesday)

Bards of a Feather

Round Robin Poetry Reading

Participants should bring up to four poems, original or not, to share with the group.

Green Cay Nature Preserve, Community Room

12800 Hagen Ranch Road in Boynton Beach

FREE

APRIL - National Poetry Month

April 1 - 12:30 pm (Saturday)

2nd Annual Throw Down the Mic:

FAU & FIU MFA Poets & Professors Performance Event

The Palm Beach Poetry Festival celebrates and supports MFA programs at FAU & FIU, two of South Florida's leading universities, as professors and students gather for an afternoon of poetry. There is no cost to attend, but the Crest Theater can be cool, so a light jacket or wrap may be needed.

Old School Square

51 N. Swinton Avenue in Delray Beach

FREE

April 13 at 7 pm (Thursday)

National Poetry Month Film Series at Lynn University

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Hosted by Professor John Childrey

Directed by Michael Hoffman, this film is a truly enchanting portrayal of Shakespeare's finest and most magical comedy. It is a richly woven tapestry of laughter and love with a generous sprinkling of fairy dust. This film version of A Midsummer Night's Dream appears to follow word for word Shakespeare's original masterpiece, only exchanging the time and place of the story from classical Athens to the village of Monte Athena, Italy, at the turn of the Nineteenth Century as the setting for this delightful version of the classic play. (120-minutes)

Count and Countess de Hoernle International Center / Amarnick-Goldstein Concert Hall

FREE

April 27 at 7 pm (Thursday)

National Poetry Month Film Series at Lynn University

Bright Star

Hosted by Professor Bonnie Boncontrai

Directed by Academy Award winner Jane Campion (Best Original Screenplay, The Piano, 1993), this extraordinary film is based on the true story of undying love between renowned poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw, The International) and his spirited muse Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish, Stop-Loss). In the wilds of 19th century England, a forbidden passion draws the two lovers ever closer-even as fate conspires to tear them apart. Bright Star takes viewers to a world where, though life may be fleeting, great art - and great love - last forever. This sparkling gem of romance illuminates the heart. (119 minutes)

Count and Countess de Hoernle International Center / Amarnick-Goldstein Concert Hall

FREE

MAY

May 6 - 12:30 pm (Saturday)

From Plate to Page:

Spice Up Your Poetry

A Workshop with Poet Holly Jaffe

This workshop will focus on food in poetry. We will be reading a variety of delicious contemporary poems. Photos will be served to whet participants' appetites as they dig into, and write their own culinary poems. All students will have the opportunity to share their poems during the workshop. Holly Jaffe has been living in South Florida for 24 years where she and her husband raised three sons. Her poems have been published in The Red Fez, Mad Swirl, Unlikely Stories, Kleft Jaw, Vext Magazine, and by Virgogray Press.

Old School Square

51 N. Swinton Avenue in Delray Beach

$10 per person

JUNE

June 1 - 10:30 am (Thursday)

Alzheimer's Poetry Project

Sunrise Assisted Living, Brighton Gardens

6341 Via De Sonrisa Del Sur in Boca Raton

FREE

Spread the love of poetry at this special reading as the Palm Beach Poetry Festival's poetry troupe reads poems of summer and, if the mood strikes, sing happy songs of yesteryear. Participants should bring five single-page poems, original or not, and feel free to sing some golden oldie songs as this group responds to the lyrics and poetry of music. This rewarding event always attracts a large audience. It will be held in the furthest building to the right of the Main Entrance at Sunrise Assisted Living, in the building called Brighton Gardens.

June 3 - 12:30 pm (Saturday)

Invite the Unexpected

A Community Outreach Workshop with Mike O'Mara

Mike O'Mara says, "You have written a perfect piece. You have designed it to your exacting specifications. It does precisely what you wanted it to do. And it couldn't be more inconsequential or boring. At last January's Palm Beach Poetry Festival, Carl Phillips asked, 'What is at stake in this poem?' We will ask that question and look for the missed opportunities that the poem presents." The Managing Editor of the South Florida Poetry Journal, O'Mara has been attending the Palm Beach Poetry Festival since 2005.

Old School Square

51 N. Swinton Avenue in Delray Beach

$10 per person

June 7 - 12:30 pm (Wednesday)

Bards of a Feather

Round Robin Poetry Reading

Participants should bring up to four poems, original or not, to share with the group.

Green Cay Nature Preserve, Community Room

12800 Hagen Ranch Road in Boynton Beach

FREE

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.

The 2018 Palm Beach Poetry Festival is sponsored in part by the National Endowment for the Arts; 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.

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