Celebrating National Poetry Month

In addition to April Fools and rain showers, this month brings with it the celebration of National Poetry Month!

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For the next 30 days, we're challenging Bostonians to reflect on, be moved by, and be energized by poetry.

Below you can find more information about poetry events happening this month, the City's annual Mayor's Poetry Program, and our Fine Arts Work Center scholarship recipients. We encourage you to experiment with your own creativity and do some writing this month!

Upcoming events

Date	Event
April 8	Slam @ The Strand
April 8	Poetry Open Mic with Charles Coe
April 10	"How It Feels to be Free": A Poetry Workshop with Jarvis Subia
April 12	Stone Soup Poetry Night
April 13	Menino Arts Center Poetry Reading
April 15	Pop-Up Open Mic at Frugal Bookstore
April 19	Poetry Workshop with Writer-in-Residence Rhonda DeChambeau
April 19 - 20	National Poetry Month at the Mary Baker Eddy Library featuring Regie Gibson
April 21	Mayor's Poetry Program Reading
April 22	Nature and Poetry in the City: A Generative Writing Workshop
April 24	From Ponder to Page/From the Mind to the Line: A Poetry Workshop with Regie Gibson
April 26	Beyond the Page: Celebrating National Poetry Month (virtual)
April 27	Poetry Reading and Book Launch: The Forgetting Curve by Mollie O'Leary
April 27	Canon, Canyon, Cannon: Poetry Reading
April 27	Poetry Reading with Tracy K. Smith
May 5	2023 Massachusetts Poetry Festival

More Poetry Opportunities

Fine Arts Work Center Scholarships

This year, the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture and City of Boston Poet Laureate Porsha Olayiwola have partnered with the Fine Arts Work Center to offer full scholarships to six emerging writers.

Writers will spend one week in Provincetown, Massachusetts, writing and studying under a poet of their choice in summer 2023. Tuition and lodging are covered via the scholarship.

Meet the Scholarship Recipients

Mayor's Poetry Program

The Mayor's Poetry Program is an annual program in which Boston residents are invited to submit poems to be displayed throughout City Hall and in an online gallery for one year. The theme for 2023, selected by Poet Laureate Porsha Olayiwola, was "Love".

Fifteen poems were selected to be displayed throughout City Hall for a year. Selected poets will be participating in a reading on Friday, April 21, on City Hall Plaza. The City Hall Mezzanine will be the rain location.

Read the 2023 poems