Readings by Sarah Arvio (Knopf), Will Schutt (Yale University Press), Roger Bonair-Agard (Haymarket Books) & Cecilia Vicuña (Ugly Duckling Presse)

Join us for the opening of the 21st annual Poets House Showcase, a free exhibit featuring all of the new poetry books and poetry-related texts published in the United States in a single year from over 650 commercial, university, and independent presses. There is no better way to get an overview of the art.

This diverse and inclusive exhibition will be on view through August 3.

One of the foremost poets of Brazil, Adélia Prado is author of eight books of poetry, two of which have been translated into English. She was praised by Veja (Brazil’s Newsweek) as “a writer of rare brilliance and invincible simplicity.” Or, as Carlos Drummond de Andrade famously declared: “Adélia is lyrical, biblical, existential; she makes poetry as naturally as nature makes weather.” In this rare visit to New York, Prado will read poems with her English-language translator Ellen Doré Watson.

A staged reading of JoAnne Akalaitis's new theater piece, Bad News! comprises "messenger" speeches from classic plays, ranging from Euripides to Racine, in adaptations by distinguished translators. This new work by Akalaitis explores this dramatic device, central to the structure of many great tragedies, invented by the Greeks around 520 B. C. Bad News! will be performed outdoors by a company of seasoned New York actors with music.

Poet, essayist, and biographer Robert Polito reads his poems dealing with the history of film and presents film clips from some of his favorite movies from film noir to foreign-language gems.

Join us on Proust's birthday to celebrate the publication of The Collected Poems of Marcel Proust, edited by Harold Augenbraum, and featuring the work of 20 poets and translators. Augenbraum, founder of the Proust Society of America, will be joined by contributors Meena Alexander, Marcella Durand, Wayne Koestenbaum, Anna Moschovakis, Mark Polizzotti and Susan Stewart.

Part of the 2013 River to River Festival

1959 celebrates a turning point in contemporary American culture, music, and spoken word artistry.

Thomas Lux is the author of more than a dozen books of poetry, most recently Child Made of Sand, God Particles and The Cradle Place. His book Split Horizon, won the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. He is a member of the faculty at Georgia Institute of Technology and Sarah Lawrence College.

Application Deadline EXTENDED TO Monday May 20

Join us for this beloved Poets House tradition that celebrates the poetry of New York City, featuring Elizabeth Alexander, Matthea Harvey, Galway Kinnell, Thomas Lux and current US Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey, followed by a dinner under the stars at the historic waterfront Tobacco Warehouse in DUMBO.

All Proceeds benefit Poets House
6:30 pm Walk begins in Manhattan, near One Centre Street
8:00 pm Seated supper at the Tobacco Warehouse

In celebration of Valentine’s Day, Poets House presents Albert Lamorisse’s timeless children’s film classic The Red Balloon. Afterward, children will make their own floating valentines in the form of hot-air balloon mobiles. This is an annual Poets House Children’s Room happening