Caleb Rainey will emcee a Poetry Palooza! program on April 20, featuring poets Traci Brimhall, Paul Brooke, Camille Dungy, Jennifer L. Knox and Debra Marquart.
A pride of lions. A parliament of owls. An eloquence of poets?
We’re not sure what the best word is, but there’s a good chance the poets themselves could figure it out during this year’s Poetry Palooza! set for April 19 and 20 at Grand View University. The second annual festival, smack dab in the middle of National Poetry Month, is a celebration of the written, re-written, re-re-written, spoken, shouted and whispered word.
This year’s palooza is an affiliated program of the Iowa Poetry Association, with support from Humanities Iowa, and features a full slate of events. Here’s a quick preview, longer than a haiku and looser than sonnet:
Reception and awards, 5:30 p.m. April 19 – Former Iowa Poet Laureate Debra Marquart will receive the James A. Autry Award, and Lucille Morgan Wilson will receive the Iowa Honorary Poet Laureate Award.
Poetry slam finals, 7:30 p.m. April 19 – Top spoken-word poets will compete in the Iowa Poetry Association’s state championship.
Workshops, 10 a.m. April 20 – Distinguished writers will share a few pointers.
Book launch, 3 p.m. April 20 – Local poet, photographer and Iowa Arts Council fellow Paul Brooke will read from his latest collection, “The Cities of the Plains.”
Open mic, 3 p.m. April 20 – Anyone who wants to speak up will get a turn.
Featured performance, 7 p.m. April 20 – An eloquence (an articulation? a syntax?) of poets from Iowa, Colorado and Kansas will share the stage in a lively program emceed by Caleb Rainey.
All the events are free and open to the public. Find more details at poeteryamp.org.
