Every year The New York City Poetry Festival unites the vast and diverse New York City poetry community on the idyllic summer paradise of Governors Island.
The festival invites poetry organizations and collectives of all shapes and sizes to bring their unique formats, aesthetics, and personalities to the festival grounds. By uniting the largest community of poets in the country and offering a unique setting for literary activity, the New York City Poetry Festival electrifies arts and literature and brings poetry to new light in the public eye.
The New York City Poetry Festival is one of the most accessible large-scale events New York has to offer. It is free to attend, and its programming is designed to cater to audiences of all ages, regardless of their poetry background.
The festival's core comprises five main stages: The Brinkley, The Algonquin, The White Horse, The Blackbird, and The Beckett. Over two days, more than a hundred literary organizations share these stages, from established presses to community writing groups.
Attendees of NYC PoFest can also expect an open-air artisan market, top-notch Smorgasburg-worthy food trucks, interactive installations, a visual arts gallery, a Youth Poetry Festival, an open mic, and more. At NYC PoFest, there is truly a little something for everyone.