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.

This year, our annual birthday tribute to American poet Emily Dickinson will also honor English novelist Jane Austen on her 250th birthday. Noted scholars Martha Nell Smith and Patricia A. Matthew will discuss the life, work, and legacy of Dickinson and Austen and how they continue to shape writers of today, highlighting well-known passages.

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.