The first Portland Poetry Festival, hosted by Littoral Books, Hole in the Head Review and Back Cove Books, will be held on Saturday, October 7, 10 AM to 6 PM, at Odd Fellows Hall, 651 Forest Ave, above Back Cove Books. All events are free and open to the public.

 The Portland Poetry Festival, coinciding with Littoral’s fifth anniversary, will be a celebration of Maine poetry. The morning will be devoted to poetry writing workshops for children led by poet Katherine Hagopian Berry.

 The afternoon will include a number of scheduled events:

– readings by sixteen Maine poets

– the announcement of the finalists for Hole in the Head Review’s Charles Simic Poetry Prize

– a panel discussion on “The Role of Poetry in This Dangerous New World”

– a performance by members of the group “Songs from Here” of a poem by the late poet, Jacqueline Moore

– and a reading of some of Moore’s poems from her collection Chasing the Grass.

 In between these scheduled events there will be ample time for refreshments, book signings, and informal conversations.