Building Community Through Poetry
The Portsmouth Poet Laureate Program is dedicated to building community through poetry by appointing and supporting an outstanding local poet as Poet Laureate for the city, sponsoring events that feature area poets and authors from outside the New Hampshire Seacoast, and encouraging a love of poetry among people of all ages.
Established in 1997 by local arts organizers and writers, the program brings people together to celebrate the written word and the talents of local and visiting artists.
November Hoot: UNH MFA Poets Casey Lynn Roland and Anna Ohara at Portsmouth Public Library (Wednesday, Nov. 6th)
Join us in the Levenson Room at Portsmouth Public Library for November's Hoot, featuring UNH MFA Poets Casey Lynn Roland and Anna Ohara! (Wednesday, Nov. 6th, 7pm-9pm) Casey Lynn Roland is a second year graduate student at the University of New Hampshire, pursuing an...
CANCELED- October Hoot: Andrew Merton and Jim Rioux
This event has been canceled due to unforeseen circumstances, we are hoping to reschedule so please check back!-PPLP Andrew Merton has been a reporter and columnist for the Boston Herald Traveler and the Boston Globe. His nonfiction has appeared in publications...
Sept. Hoot: Ft. Robert Carr and John Burroughs
Robert Carr is the author of Amaranth, published in 2016 by Indolent Books and The Unbuttoned Eye, a full-length 2019 collection from 3: A Taos Press. Among other publications his poetry appears in the American Journal of Poetry, Bellevue Literary Review, Crab Orchard...
No, it’s not a lawn mower
Mother Mary, Jesus and Joseph! I thought it was a mower-- thought I was hearing the common sound of cutting grass. It is the hottest, most humid day here-- just a few days after the Fourth of July and my attention is thrown to the front of our home--street side, here...
June Hoot: Ft. Rachel Contreni Flynn and Fred Marchant
Rachel Contreni Flynn is the the co-editor of Beloit Poetry, Journaland, the author of two award-winning full-length poetry collections, Ice, Mouth, Song (Tupelo Press 2005) and Tongue (Red Hen Press 2010) as well as a chapbook, Haywire (Bright Hill Press 2009). In...
May 1st Hoot featuring Incoming and Outgoing Poets Laureate
Join us in saying goodbye to Mike Nelson and welcoming our 12th Poet Laureate, Tammi Truax!
April 3rd Hoot featuring David Surette and Mercy Carbonell
David R. Surette’s new book of poetry is Malden, selected and new poems that feature his hometown Malden, Massachusetts. He is the author of five other collections includng Stable which was named an Honor Book at the 2016 Massachusetts Book Awards. His poems are...
Lunation Book Release
Celebrate International Women's Day with the Book Release of Lunation: A Good Fat Anthology of 114 Women Poets. Lunation is an epic gathering of women poets from the seacoast and beyond in one fierce and fiery publication six months in the making and culminating with...
March 6th Hoot featuring Cassandra de Alba and Alice Radin
Cassandra de Alba is a poet living in Massachusetts. Her work has appeared in The Shallow Ends, Underblong, Big Lucks, and Smoking Glue Gun, among other publications. Her chapbooks habitats(Horse Less Press, 2016) and ORB (Reality Hands, 2018) are about deer and the...
Accepting Nominations!
The PPLP Board is now accepting nominations for our next Poet Laureate for 2019-2021! • Nominees for 2019 – 20 21 should live in Portsmouth, Dover, Durham, Eliot, Greenland, Kittery, Madbury, New Castle, Newfields, Newington, Newmarket, North Hampton, Rye, or Stratham...
