San José Poetry Festival 2016

Breaking Borders in Poetry

In a time when there’s talk about building walls, we at the San José Poetry Festival 2016, would rather be breaking borders in poetry, and create avenues to embrace a varied and diverse selection of writing and expression. Most poetry stems from our common human experiences. Each of us respond to poetry in our own way because it touches a nerve, and together, we want to share this synchronicity.

Come join us and celebrate a day-long poetry festival with poetry lovers, newcomers, and fun-seekers throughout our community in San José, CA. We will have visiting poets from San Francisco, Culver City, Santa Cruz, El Granada, Menlo Park, Sunnyvale, and several prominent poets from in and around Silicon Valley.

Mark your calendars, your mobile apps, or set your timers, for Sunday, September 18, 2016, from 9:00 a.m.to 6:00 p.m. at History San José. You will find an array of workshops and presentations to choose from, and a selection of readings by poets, plus a grandiose treat of hearing our Keynote Speaker, and two County Poet Laureates read and share their poetry. For details about the program and venue click the tab marked Schedule.

WHO WE ARE

For those of you who are not familiar with Poetry Center San Jose (PCSJ) the organization has been around since 1978, and we have hosted workshops with longtime and noteworthy poets such as Robert Bly, Galway Kinnell, and William Stafford. The Center’s main objective has been to provide a place for our community of poets to come together, improve their craft, and support one another. Readings, workshops, and academic programs continue at the Markham House at History San José—the house of poet Edwin Markham, who lived near the San José State campus in the late 1800s. It contains an exhibit of Markham’s memorabilia and poetry and the start of several specific libraries for poets.

PCSJ also publishes the literary journal Caesura, which has gained a national reputation. Many of the participants at the San José Poetry Festival are members of the Poetry Center, who volunteer at various poetry events and participate in the monthly readings at the Willow Glen Poetry Project, and the Well-RED Reading Series, and enjoy a Sunday afternoon group session at Poets&Play, writing, reading, and collaborating, at the Markham House.

Markham House