A few months after our Covid lockdown began in 2020, my dear friend Kathrin Seitz and I conceived The Poets Corner as an outlet for pent-up creative energy, as our safe escape from isolation by fostering online a community of writers and readers of poetry and short prose.

Today, our community joins in not just from Maine but from across the world.

Our events have included Naomi Shihab Nye, Ellen Bass, Richard Blanco, Kevin Pilkington, Natalie Goldberg, Rick Barot, Mark S. Burrows, Pádraig O Tuama, Stephanie Dowrick, Carrie Fountain, Raviv Mohabir, Jeffrey Bean, as well as many Maine voices, both established, newly published, and emerging poets. 

Every past 90-minute reading can be accessed free online at www.thepoetscorner.org/events and our monthly live readings are offered at no charge.

We’ve been funding expenses ourselves, and we would truly appreciate any help you might feel inspired to give to help offset some of our out-of- pocket costs for Zoom, Submittable, website assistance etc. and to allow us to do even more.

It’s work that we pursue with a passion... so many talented poets and writers have filled our Sunday afternoons with joy, wisdom, humor and always a growing awareness of the power and capacity of poetry to bring us together.

In 2022 we hosted 12 readings, held our first bi-annual Chapbook contest with Naomi Shihab Nye as the juror, and Jeffrey Bean as our winner.  Kathrin has had to step away due to her health, but an amazing Advisory Board has stepped up (all volunteers) to help me navigate and plan our richly diverse monthly offerings.

Our offerings in 2023 included several “Open Calls” - one that is our annual partnership with Page Gallery on Ekphrastic Poetry, several Book Launch readings, themed readings, and special guests. In addition to the free monthly readings on Zoom, we offer a series of Corner Craft Talks on Zoom for which there is a small fee. 

Live and In-Person: We collaborate with Toad Hall Editions to host live Open Mic events, called “DRAFT” in the midcoast region (at Hey Sailor in Searsport, Marshall’s Wharf in Belfast, and soon others). 

In May 2023 we produced the inaugural Camden Festival of Poetry on May 20, 2023 with Richard Blanco as the keynote speaker and many talented midcoast Maine poets reading. More information will come soon on all of these. In 2024, our keynote is Pádraig Ó Tuama.

 If you appreciate what we do—if it brings you some joy on a Sunday afternoon once in a while—any donation amount would be greatly appreciated. 

– Meg Weston, Co-Founder & Director