The eighth annual New Orleans Poetry Festival is scheduled to take place from April 13-16, 2023. This year's event will take place at the New Orleans Healing Center after a long-awaited return to in-person programming last year (2372 St. Claude Avenue). Readings, seminars, roundtable discussions, the cherished annual small press and book market, and other activities will be held during NOPF23. The public is welcome to visit the full event without paying a penny.
Main activities at NOPF23 include:
Opening Night: On Thursday, April 13 at 7 p.m., NOPF will hold a Locals' Night Opening Gala and Fundraiser at the Saturn Bar (3067 St. Claude Avenue). This event will include a variety of local poets and artists.
International Night: On Friday, April 14 at 6 p.m., NOPF will present an International Night with an emphasis on Brazil. Catarina Lins, Salgado Maranho, Omar Salomo, Narlan Matos Teixeira, and Lia Vieira will all do multilingual readings. This occasion will take place in the Stone Auditorium of the Woldenberg Art Center on the Tulane University campus and is co-sponsored by the department of Spanish and Portuguese.
Featured Performance: In Café Istanbul inside the New Orleans Healing Center on Saturday, April 15 at 7 p.m., NOPF will present nationally acclaimed poets Tyehimba Jess and Harmony Holiday.
Small Press Book Fair, Weekend Readings, and Panels: On April 15 and 16, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, NOPF will hold a small press and book market in addition to concurrent readings, workshops, and panels on a range of subjects relating to contemporary poetry and poetics.
The New Orleans Poetry Festival, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, organizes the festival every year. This year, Tulane University, Lavender Ink/Diálogos Books, Trembling Pillow Press, and members of the New Orleans poetry community generously contributed to its success. Interested guests are invited to check back regularly for the most recent festival news as any schedule updates will also be posted on the website.
The NOPF website, nolapoetry.com, has links for registration (including information on how to volunteer), a complete schedule for the 2023 festival, information on specific artists and events, and details on all scheduled activities.
Find Megan Burns (Trembling Pillow Press), megan@nolapoetry.com, or Bill Lavender (Lavender Ink/Diálogos), at nolapoetry.com for further information. For updates, visit the main website at nolapoetry.com or follow the publication on social media at neworleanspoetry/, #NOPF23 on Twitter, and nolapoetryfest504 on Facebook (Instagram).
