Poetry

Join Folger Poetry in honoring the legacy of former Folger Shakespeare Library Director O.B. Hardison, Jr. in an evening of dynamic readings by the next generation of local poets.

In a collaboration with Folger Poetry, Folger Consort will be joined by poet, author, and actor Rose Solari for a performance across the centuries in words and music.

This year, our annual birthday tribute to American poet Emily Dickinson will also honor English novelist Jane Austen on her 250th birthday, with noted scholar Martha Nell Smith.

The Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize is awarded annually for a poetry collection by a writer who has published no more than one book of poetry. This April, we celebrate the 20th winner, Anna Lena Phillips Bell, for her manuscript Might Could, as selected by judge Shane McCrae, who will also read.

The Poetry season concludes with a finale reading by a poet chosen by a group of Folger Poetry supporters. The evening’s honored guest will read from the work of other poets cited as their literary influences as well as from their own work.