Poets Share Their Craft at The 3rd Annual Long Beach Poetry Festival

The third Long Beach Poetry Festival will be held Saturday, October 12 from 10:30 a.m. – 9 p.m. at The Liberty Art Gallery and Performance Space in downtown Long Beach. The all-day event is free to the public, and will bring hundreds of poets and poetry-connoisseurs to one place for an extraordinary celebration of words.

21 poets with diverse backgrounds will be featured throughout the event. The day will conclude with headlining poet Tony Hoagland. Hoagland’s work has won the Poetry Foundation’s Mark Twain Award, the Jackson Prize, the O.B. Hardisson Prize, and The James Laughlin Award. He currently teaches writing and literature at the University of Houston, and started a program for coaching high school teachers in the teaching of poetry in the classroom. Hoagland’s poetry collections include What Narcissism Means to Me and Donkey Gospel.

Paul Tayyar, one of the festival’s hosts and committee members, said, “We are thrilled to spotlight so many phenomenal poets at this event. Many of which have wonderful collections of poetry and are widely published, and some who are newer to the scene but have made great strides early on. Given that the Long Beach Poetry Festival prides itself on celebrating the best that contemporary poetry has to offer, it is our enormous privilege to have Tony Hoagland as this year’s Featured Poet. Mr. Hoagland’s poetic career has been defined by a willingness to chronicle, explore, critique, and re-imagine the American experience, and his consistently superb work has placed him in the living pantheon of American poets, alongside writers like Billy Collins, Mary Oliver, Rita Dove, and Sherman Alexie.”

Long Beach Poetry Festival Schedule

• 10:30am
  Doors Open
• 11:00am – 12:20pm
  Jax NTP
  Thomas R. Thomas
  Andrew Hilbert
  Marianne Stewart
• 12:30pm -1:30pm
  Rachelle Cruz
  Scott Noon Creley
  Sarah Miller
• 1:30pm – 2:30pm
  Graciela Huinao
  /Margaret Towner
  Bunkong Tuon
• 3:00pm – 4:00pm
  Monica Lee Copeland
  John Grochalski
  Larry Raymond Duncan
• 4:00pm – 5:00pm
  Larry Colker
  Jackleen Holten
  Steve Henn
• 5:00pm – 6:00pm
  Timothy Green
  Lorene Delany Ullman
  Brendan Constantine
• 6:00pm – 7:00pm
  Michael C Ford
  Patty Seyburn
  Tony Gloeggler
• 7:30pm – 8:30pm
  Tony Hoagland
• 9:00pm
  FIN

The official bookseller for the day is Sean Moor, owner of the popular local bookstore, Gatsby Books. The audience will be able to purchase books by featured readers throughout the day. Hosting the event are Long Beach Poetry Festival committee members: Anna Badua, Donna Hilbert, Kevin Lee, Tamara Madison, Clint Margrave, and Paul Kareem Tayyar.

There will be light snacks and refreshments provided, and boxed lunches will be available for a small price. Festival-goers are welcome to also bring their own meals or visit local eateries throughout the day.

About the Long Beach Poetry Festival
The Long Beach Poetry Festival debuted in 2011, and has hosted new and award-winning writers from across the United States and abroad. Funding is comprised mostly of donations and contributions by committee members.

About The Liberty Art Gallery and Performance Space
Opened in 2011 and located at 435 Alamitos Avenue, Long Beach, California 90802. The gallery hosts group and themed art exhibits featuring a variety artists and mediums. The gallery space also boasts an outdoor urban garden area where musicians and bands perform.