The Belfast Poetry Festival

The Belfast Poetry Festival celebrates poetry and artistic possibility. One of the few community-based, non-academic literary festivals in the country, the Festival is an inclusive and collaboration-driven event that gives poets, artists, and audience broad opportunity to make connections, share ideas, and discover possibilities for the arts beyond the merely expected. The Festival joins poets and artists in collaborative work that stretches the limits of each medium. We bring together established, recognized poets and emerging voices, a broad range of genres and techniques, poets from different regions across the state, and a mix of the familiar and the innovative.

Throughout  the weekend:

Magnetic Poetry Stations
Throughout Downtown Belfast
Make Your Own Poetry While You Take In The Autumn Air! Magnetic Poetry Boards Will Be Set Up And Ready For You To Make Your Mark.

Lattice Work With Crissy Liu
Pop-Up Maker Stations!
This Collaborative Sculpture Project Combines Elements Of Simplicity, Community, And Scale. Using The Printer Paper And Scotch Tape Provided, Participants Will Gather To Help Construct Building “Blocks.” As The Work Progresses, The Growing Crystal Structure Expands Quickly Into A Large Geometric Array Whose Size Is Limited Only By The Space In Which It Is Built. Lattice Work Is An Homage In Equal Parts To Buckminster Fuller And To The Early American Quilting Bee; To Rigorous Mathematical Thought And To The Convivial Pleasure Of Craft. Join Us On Sunday, October 20 At The Belfast Boathouse For A Community Assembly Activity!

Poetry Chapbook Exhibit With Bloof Books
Waterfall Arts
Blue Hill-Based Collaborative Press Bloof Books Presents An Exhibit Of Poetry Books. Founder Shanna Compton Will Be Hosting Walkthroughs Throughout The Weekend.

Scavenger Scrolls
Throughout Downtown Belfast
Follow The Trail Of Poems Hand-Scribed On The Windows Of Downtown Belfast Businesses. Go Inside The Shop To Collect A Stamp On A Bingo-Style Card, And Collect As Many Stamps As You Can To Be Eligible For A Prize At The Closing Poetry Picnic On Sunday, October 20.

Schedule:

Lattes And Limericks
9:30 a.m: Belfast Free Library
Join An Informal Sharing Of Formal Poetry. Bring A Limerick To Read To The Group

Writing Marathon  With Todd Mckinley
10:00 a.m: Belfast Public Library  (Start At Kramer Gallery)
A Writing Marathon Leverages Two Elements Important To Poetry: Time And Place. We’ll Begin Our Session Together, And Then Split Off In Pairs And Threes To Visit Various Locations To Sit - Inside Or Outside - To Inspire Our Writing. Rotating Regularly, The Goal Is To Visit Multiple Locations. We End Our Session By Reading In The Round - Sharing Excerpts From Our Writing And Reflecting On How Various Places Influenced Our Writing.

Two Worlds, One Breath:
A Haiku Workshop With Geoffrey Philp
3:00 p.m: The Abbott Room
Belfast Free Library
Explore The Art Of Haiku In Belfast's Autumn Landscape. Through Discussions, Outdoor Experiences, And Writing Exercises, Participants Will Learn About Haiku's History, Aesthetics, And Principles. We Will Practice Mindful Observation Of The Changing Season And Use Haiku Techniques To Create Meaningful Poems Reflecting Our Experiences.

Haiku Death Match  With Host Mattie John Bamman  And Special Guest Appearance By  The Exceptions
7:00 p.m: Dreamland, The Colonial Theater
The 1st Annual Haiku Death Match Will Debut At This Year’s Festival The Haiku Death Match Is A Thrilling Competition That Sees Poets Battle Head-To-Head Until The Last Haikuist Is Left Standing. Poets Will Use Audience Prompts To Compose Poems Onsite, And The Winner, Chosen By Audience Applause, Will Receive The Coveted Title Of Bpf Hdm Champion. The Exceptions Will Also Present A Salty Set Of Fun, Jazz-Punk Improve Poetry.