Fall Season of Events

Storefront transformed into new home for poets and poetry readers

The Poetry Society of America is pleased to annouce its fall 2023 season of programs at its new storefront space in Brooklyn. The season features a dozen readings, seminars, and workshops with nationally acclaimed poets, including Kazim Ali, Mei-mei Berssenbrugge, Rigoberto Gonzalez, Ilya Kaminsky, Fred Moten, Vijay Seshadri, and Patricia Smith, among others. Attached is a complete listing of events with registration information.

“We are delighted to welcome this astonishing array of poets to our storefront space this fall,” said Matt Brogan, Executive Director of the Poetry Society. “These programs showcase what is possible when you combine a commitment to artistic excellence with a passion for grassroots community engagement.”

The Poetry Society’s new storefront space represents an exciting addition to New York’s literary and cultural landscape, a community space for poets and poetry readers that embodies the Poetry Society’s democratic values. In addition to public programs, the space also hosts events with local schools and community groups. The Poetry Society also uses the large display window as a laboratory for poetry-based public art installations, creating unexpected encounters with poetry for thousands of passersby each day.

Best known for Poetry in Motion, its partnership with MTA Arts and Design to place poems in New York City subways, buses and transit stations, the Poetry Society is dedicated to making poetry part of the social fabric of daily life. We place poems in the most democratic and inclusive public spaces, from public parks to street corners to public housing developments. The Poetry Society’s new storefront space, located at 119 Smith Street in Brooklyn, furthers this mission by bringing poetry “to the streets,” transforming an empty storefront into a thriving literary center.

READING SERIES

Mei-mei Berssenbrugge & Brian Teare
September 21, 7:00pm

Chapbook Fellowship Winners Reading:
Lauren Aliza Green, Emily Lee Luan & Margaret Ray
September 28, 7:00pm

Kazim Ali & Nicole Sealey
October 19, 7:00pm

Ilya Kaminsky & Deborah Landau
November 16, 7:00pm

Fred Moten & Deborah Paredez
November 30, 7:00pm

Rigoberto González & Patricia Smith
December 7, 7:00pm

WORKSHOPS AND SEMINARS

Oct 3 & 10: The Poetry of Art: A Generative Seminar
Dean Rader
Online, 2 sessions

Oct 5: Force of Voice: A Seminar
Jameson Fitzpatrick
In-person, 1 session

Oct 11 to Nov 8: Fabulous and Fantastical Voices: A Poetry Workshop
Sally Wen Mao
In-person, 5 sessions.

October 14: Adventures in Surrealism: A Seminar
Vijay Seshadri
In-person, 1 session

Oct 16 to Nov 13: The Radical Poetics of Everyday Life:
A Crash Course in Contemporary Poetry
Joshua Edwards
In-person, 5 sessions

Dec 6 & 13: The Poetry of Anne Spencer: A Seminar
Camille Dungy
Online, 2 sessions

Unless otherwise noted, all programs occur at the Poetry Society’s storefront space at 119 Smith Street, Brooklyn, NY.


The Poetry Society’s programs are made possible by the generous support of The Destina Foundation, the Poetry Foundation, the Hawthornden Foundation, the Leon Lowenstein Foundation, the Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation, the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, the Lyric Foundation, Humanities NY, Hyde & Watson, and the Bydale Foundation, as well as public support from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York State Council on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. We are also grateful for the ongoing support of our members and individual donors.