St. Petersburg Holds Second Annual 'City of Writers Poetry Festival' in April

St. Petersburg Holds Second Annual "City of Writers Poetry Festival" in April

March 29, 2024 - In celebration of National Poetry Month, the City of St. Petersburg, City Poet Laureate Gloria Muñoz, and several community partners will co-host the city's second annual City of Writers Poetry Festival. Events will be held throughout the community during April and will include conversations with national poetry voices, writing workshops, and poetry readings.

"St. Petersburg is long known as a city dedicated to the craft of writing. Not only does our city provide the perfect setting to enjoy the literary prowess of local and national writers, but Florida offers the perfect combination of history, colorful characters, wildlife, and scenery for a compelling storyline," said St. Petersburg Mayor Kenneth T. Welch. "I'm thrilled for the City to partner with those who elevate the talents of writers from near and far."

The City of Writers Poetry Festival will include collaborations with local writers, Eckerd College, the Woodson African American Museum of Florida, St. Pete Youth Farm, the Dali Museum, Black Crow Coffee, the Palladium, Print St. Pete, and other local partners.

"I'm thrilled to kick off the second annual City of Writers Poetry Festival. We are fortunate to feature such a wide range of local and visiting voices this year," said Gloria Muñoz, Poet Laureate for the City of St. Petersburg. "We hope to encourage new and seasoned writers alike to take part in the festival that celebrates poetry across this vibrant city of writers."

Events featuring local and national poets and authors include:

Eckerd College National Poetry Month Reading Series Presents: Adam Day
Wednesday, April 3, 7 p.m.
Eckerd College, 4200 54th Ave. S.

Adam Day is a poet, critic, and 2001 alumnus of Eckerd College. Adam was selected PEN Emerging Writers Award in 2011.

Sit A Spell Conversation Series: Martha Bireda
Wednesday, April 10, 6 p.m.
Woodson African American Museum of Florida, 2240 9th Ave. S.

Martha Bireda, Ph.D., a writer, lecturer, and living history performer, is the Director of the Blanchard House Museum of African American History and Culture of Charlotte County in Punta Gorda, Florida, and has authored more than 12 non-fiction books.

Eckerd College National Poetry Month Reading Series Presents: Amy Alvarez & Urayoán Noel
Thursday, April 11, 6 p.m.
Eckerd College, 4200 54th Ave. S.

Amy Alvarez, a poet and teacher in West Virginia, was selected as one of 2022's Best New Poets and has been awarded fellowships from CantoMundo, VONA, Macondo, VCCA, and the Furious Flower Poetry Center. In 2022, Amy was inducted as an Affrilachian Poet.

Urayoán Noel is a poet, critic, translator, international performer, and educator at New York University and at Stetson University's MFA of the Americas. Urayoán is the winner of the LASA Latino Studies Book Award and has authored multiple award-winning books.

Eckerd College National Poetry Month Reading Series and Poetry at the Dalí Present: Jericho Brown
Thursday, April 25 at 6:30 p.m.
Eckerd College, 4200 54th Ave. S.

Jericho Brown is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and director of the Creative Writing Program and a professor at Emory University in Atlanta. Jericho is the recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The full event lineup can be found at stpete.org/cityofwriters. Events are free and open to the public unless stated otherwise. Some events require advance registration.

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