Preview by Brad Balfour
Event: Irish Arts Center’s 14th Annual PoetryFest
When: December 1 – 3, 2023
Where: Irish Arts Center
726 11th Avenue
Hell’s Kitchen, NYC
The Irish Arts Center has been a haven for creative minds since the 1970s. One of its long running events is its annual PoetryFest. The 14th Annual edition runs December 1 – 3, 2023 at the Irish Arts Center (726 11th Ave) brings together poets and bards from both sides of the Atlantic.
The opening night festivities on December 1st features special guests Laurie Anderson, David Byrne, Lucy Caldwell, Michelle Gallen, Michael Patrick MacDonald, Consul General Helena Nolan, and Dael Orlandersmith. The festival invitees include poets Sara Berkeley, Tara Bergin, Timothy Donnelly, Elisa Gonzalez, Thomas McCarthy, Mary Noonan, Tom Sleigh, and curator Nick Laird.
After the opening festivities is a weekend of readings. On Sunday, December 3 is Desert Island Poems, in which Thomas McCarthy and Sharon Olds, in conversation with Nick Laird, have each poet choose five poems they would bring to a desert island with them.
To learn more, go to: https://irishartscenter.org/event/14th-annual-poetryfest