Tom Martin’s Bookplate and Kent County Arts Council will present the ninth annual Kent County Poetry Festival: A Day of Public Poetry in Celebration of National Poetry Month.
It will be held at the Bookplate, 112 South Cross Street, Chestertown, Maryland on First Friday, April 1, 2016 from 4 to 7 p.m.
People from throughout the county will gather to read aloud their favorite lines from the world of verse—a reminder that poetry, rather than being some rarefied specimen, is in fact a vital, living art with widespread appeal.
The public is welcome to simply drop by during the event to listen. Those who want to share a poem can either register in advance by sending an email to bookplate@verizon.net, calling 410-778-4167 or simply dropping in with your favorite poem to read.
This program is in the spirit of the ‘Favorite Poem Project’ pioneered by Robert Pinsky when he was Poet Laureate of the United States. The goal is to bring together diverse peoples in our community around the poetry people know and love to share and, in doing so, debunk the idea that poetry is just something for academics to study. During National Poetry Month, we want to illustrate the role that poetry can have in enriching our everyday lives.
The organizer of the festival is Robert Earl Price, a poet and playwright who is lecturer and writer in residence in the Drama Department at Washington College and Artistic Director at Sumner Hall, G.A.R.
For more information about the Poetry Festival, contact Leslie Prince Raimond at the Kent County Arts Council or Tom Martin at the Book Plate.