Poetry Heat Wave! The 2017 Boston Poetry Marathon

A much-loved writing community tradition is returning to the Hub again in 2017. The Boston Poetry Marathon will be held August 18th - 20th, at Outpost 186 in Cambridge’s Inman Square. Over three days, nearly 100 local and out-of-town poets will read and perform their poems.

The Marathon presents a diverse range of poetry styles; academics, slam poets, students from local creative writing programs, and everyone in between rub elbows during 17 hours of poetry programming. Each poet is given a brief timeslot to share their work with the audience. Attendance is free (donations accepted), and all ages are welcome.

This year marks a new beginning for the Boston Poetry Marathon, which is celebrating its 20th year. Four new organizers (or “co-poet wranglers”) have taken the helm. Gillian Devereux, Bridget Eileen, Suzanne Mercury and Andrew K. Peterson – all published poets and veteran Marathon readers from the Boston-area – are organizing this year’s poetry fest which, as always, is entirely volunteer run. This year’s goal, they say, remains unchanged from past years: to create an engaging atmosphere that supports poetry and sustains the local literary community.

Gillian Devereux outlined the festival’s goals for maintaining inclusiveness. “We’re committed to finding new voices who may not have read here in the past to add to our roster. We want to hear from poets who represent the many diverse, vibrant poetic communities in the Greater Boston area.” The organizers are reaching out to educators, youth groups, spoken word series, small press publishers, and of course, their loyal fans, to fill this year’s schedule.

“The Marathon has a great base of dedicated followers – poets who share their work year after year,” said Suzanne Mercury. “It’s encouraging to see the developmental arcs of talented writers in our city. When Bridget and I first read at the Marathon, we were unpublished poets. That’s part of what makes this event special: whether you’re an established poet who has published many books, or you have never read your work in front of people before, the audience is so supportive. You never know what you’re going to hear. Every year is fresh, and a little unpredictable. But the basic formula is simple: We listen to a bunch of poems. We hang out. We have fun. We hope you’ll join us!”

“With so much political and social uncertainty right now, we feel it’s urgent to create a welcoming space for writers to share their poems and talk with one another,” said co-organizer Andrew K. Peterson. “Poetry is a life-giving force, a deep and vital source of creative empathy. The world needs much more of it. The Boston Poetry Marathon offers more poetry – a lot more! Every year I come away exhausted, inspired, and ready to write.”

“Every year I look forward to the Marathon so much, and I’m so excited to be part of helping to bring it to the community for 2017,” said co-organizer Bridget Eileen. “I know they say the holidays are the most wonderful time of the year, but I tend to think it’s the Boston Poetry Marathon.”

For media inquiries, please contact the organizers at: [email protected].

Event Details:

What: Boston Poetry Marathon
Where: Outpost 186 – 186 ½ Hampshire Street, Cambridge MA
When: Friday, August 18th: 7:00 – 10:00 PM
Saturday, August 19th: 12:30 PM – 10:30 PM
Sunday, August 20th: 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Website: bostonpoetrymarathon.wordpress.com
Instagram/Twitter: @bostonpoetrymarathon

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