As the biggest poetry festival in New England, the Massachusetts Poetry Festival is committed to celebrating our common threads and to weaving worlds together by providing opportunities for writers to share their work, drawing people from different regions of the state and country to build community, harnessing the power of poetry to inspire collective care and imagine possibilities for social change. Programming themes at this year’s Festival range from joy and play, the environment, and diversity in all of its forms to grief and care, democracy and the voice of the people, as well as the art of poetry and building a poet’s life.

The Massachusetts Poetry Festival kicks off on May 30th with Common Threads: A Celebration of Massachusetts Poets, a showcase of local poets with readings by distinguished Massachusetts poets and poet laureates, including Elizabeth Bradfield, Regie Gibson, and J.D. Scrimgeour. The high energy continues with community programming held at venues throughout the City of Salem, including the Peabody Essex Museum, Old Town Hall, National Park Service Visitor Welcome Center, and others. Check out our Festival map here. Register for the festival here!

The 2023 Festival introduced the Teen Poetry Track, allowing young talents to shine. The Teen Poetry Track previously included a collaborative mural creation, a poetry showcase, and an exhilarating teen slam series that featured several Massachusetts teams. The Teen Poetry Track will have an even larger role this year, featuring a Community Cento organized by the Teen Council, interactive events, and a teen slam performance by Mass Poetry’s SW@MP team, which will open for Danez Smith’s headline reading and Q&A on May 31st.

This year’s Festival will also continue the tradition of offering a Small Press Fair to attendees on May 31st. This fair acts as a platform for small, independent presses and literary organizations to share their books and literary journals, and raise their visibility without having to travel to expensive national conferences. Attendees can also buy books by headline poets and featured presenters throughout the Festival and get their books signed, thanks to our partnership with Boston-based bookseller JustBook-ish. There’s still time for your publication to join the fair! Click here for more information.

If you’re traveling a distance to attend the Festival, please check out this page with more information on how to get to Salem, MA as well as places to lodge.We’re excited to partner with Salem State University this year to offer budget-friendly accommodations. Festival attendees may book single rooms in dorm suites at a nightly rate of $60; linens are provided with an additional one-time payment of $25. Reservation details are available at the above link.

And, if you can’t make it to our in-person Festival, we are offering a variety of online programming this Spring! Building on the success of virtual programming launched ahead of the 2023 Massachusetts Poetry Festival, Mass Poetry is excited to continue the Bridging the Gap series this year. Beginning in late April and leading up to the 2025 Massachusetts Poetry Festival in late May, we will host nine virtual readings, workshops, and panel discussions. Check out the full listing of events facilitated by a dynamic group of local, national, and international poets with descriptions and details here. 

We are grateful to all of our supporters for making both virtual programming and this year’s Massachusetts Poetry Festival possible. For those interested in contributing to the ongoing work of Mass Poetry, please donate and support the Festival. We look forward to seeing you in Salem, MA from May 30th to June 1st to celebrate the power of poetry during this weekend of gathering and inspiration!