2024 Camden Festival of Poetry
May 17–18, 2024
Featuring keynote Pádraig Ó Tuama, Irish poet, peace activist and host of the popular poetry podcast Poetry Unbound.
“Pádraig Ó Tuama is an extraordinary person, whose influence extends quietly and gracefully across the world. His poetry bears these same qualities and brings him close. It is a gift to us all.”
—Krista Tippett, Creator of On Being
UPCOMING EVENTS
UPCOMING EVENTS
May 2024
Camden Public Library
Friday, May 17th
2:00pm - 4:00pm
Camden Public Library
A CRAFT TALK WITH PÁDRAIG Ó TUAMA: You You You: the address of poetry
REGISTRATION REQUIRED. Our in-person event is full, but you can still sign up to attend virtually over Zoom.
A poem is a word-event going in many directions at once. Sometimes the “you” of a poem is a specific person, at other times it’s the poet, or a general audience, and at times there’s no you at all so the poem addresses itself to the world. Join celebrated poet, theologian, mediator and author Pádraig Ó Tuama for this special craft talk to kick off the 2024 Camden Festival of Poetry.
Register here.
(Write to thepoetscornermaine@gmail.com to request a fee waiver if your financial circumstances prevent you for paying this amount.) This event will be held over Zoom.
Friday, May 17th
First Congregational Church in Camden
7:00pm - 9:00pm
FRIDAY NIGHT OPEN MIC !
Join fellow poets and poetry lovers for an evening of sharing the spoken word. This event is free and open to all. We will cap our registrations at 30 readers, but also reserve 5 spaces for those who come and register at the door. If you sign up and change your mind, please let us know. We now have 30 readers signed up. Please come and we’ll try to include a few of those who register at the door.
Saturday, May 18th
Downtown Camden
10:00am - 12:00pm
Saturday, May 18th
First Congregational Church in Camden
1:00pm - 5:15 pm
Pre-Festival Events and Reading
Writing Poetry About Art (Ekphrastic) workshops with John Paul Caponigro at CMCA, Farnsworth Museum, and Colby College Museum of Art in May. Learn More.
Pre-Festival Reading at the Camden Public Library on May 14th. 6:30-8:30 Readers TBD.
More details to follow.
MORNING POEMS ON WINDOWS WALK
Join young poets from the Camden Rockport Middle School on a walk around town, where they will show the group the poetry they wrote and displayed on windows around the village.
SATURDAY FESTIVAL EVENTS
This year’s Saturday events will include readings, music, workshops, a book fair, and a keynote with Pádraig Ó Tuama. Stay tuned for the full Festival program! If you already know you’re going to attend, please register here - the Festival is free, but we’d like to know how many people to expect.
Meet the Poets
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Carol Willette Bachofner
is an award-winning poet, memoirist, photographer, and watercolorist who served as Rockland’s Poet Laureate. Author of 7 books of poetry, most recently Test Pattern, a Fantod of Prose Poems, Carol offers poetry and craft tips at carolbach.substack.com.
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Audrey Minutolo-Le
is Founder and Creative Director of Highland Grove Artist Residency in Bridgton, Maine, and teaches at UMaine. Published in DownEast Magazine, Habitat, DownEast Books and The Maine Standard, her first novel, Gray Ledges, (Rowman & Littlefield) comes out in 2025.
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Dave Morrison's
poems have been published in literary magazines and anthologies, and featured on Writer’s Almanac, Take Heart, and Poems from Here. Morrison has published seventeen books of poetry including We Are Here and It Is Now (Soul Finger Press 2024).
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Jefferson Navicky
is the author of Head of Island Beautification for the Rural Outlands, as well as Antique Densities, which won the 2022 Maine Literary Award for Poetry. He is the archivist for the Maine Women Writers Collection.
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Arisa White
is an associate professor of English and Creative Writing at Colby College. She is the author of the poetic memoir Who’s Your Daddy and is currently developing with composer Jessica Jones Post Pardon: The Opera. arisawhite.com
Mehuman (May-mon) calls both Nashville, TN and Portland, ME home. With sound rooted in Gospel blues, Mehuman successfully melds genres of Afro-Americana Country Soul with lyrics that reflect a deeply personal perspective on life, love, and loss.
Chris Ross is a native of Hancock and 2014 winner of the "Songwriter of the Year" award at the New England Music Awards. Known for his cinematic lyrics and sharp humor, Ross’ wit matches his musical talent.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7-AzT6nzrs&list=PLmyqQN0UxiQDScKi02419aYh7wDMIzr0z&index=24
Register to attend the 2024 Camden Festival of Poetry
Camden Festival of Poetry Sponsorship
The Camden Festival of Poetry will be an annual event, brought to you by a dedicated organizing committee of individuals active in the arts in our community and by The Poets Corner. Sponsorships help to offset expenses for venue, recording, advertising, our website, refreshments, and a modest honorarium for participating poets and musicians. Please consider becoming a sponsor or making a donation to support the festival today.