Details
Fri, Dec 5 - Sun, Dec 7, 2025
Contact
Box Office
888-616-0274
boxoffice@irishartscenter.org
Phone hours:
10am-6pm, Monday-Friday
The JL Greene Theatre
Irish Arts Center
726 11th Avenue
Hell's Kitchen, NYC
Featured Media
Overview
Take part in the “literary revelry” (New Yorker) of our longstanding festival of verse! The venerated poet Vona Groarke gathers writers from Ireland, Northern Ireland, and North America for a weekend of readings and conversations, starting with Friday evening’s much-loved Favorite Irish Poems launch event celebrating Irish poetry across the ages.
Most events are free, but reservations are strongly encouraged.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5 // 8PM
Favorite Irish Poems
Favorite Irish Poems is the traditional opening night event of our annual PoetryFest, to which we invite festival poets and special guests to share their most-loved verses by Irish writers, followed by a reception in the Devlin Café.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6 // 2PM, 3:30PM, 5PM
Free readings and conversations with festival poets
2pm // Scott McKendry and m.s. RedCherries
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3:30pm // In Conversation: Poetry Beyond Its Margins (Philosophy / Theology)
Pádraig Ó Tuama and Christian Wiman, with Vona Groarke
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5pm // Alan Gillis and Dorothea Lasky
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SUNDAY, DECEMBER // 1PM, 2:30PM, 4PM
Free readings and conversations with festival poets
1pm // Grace Wilentz and Jenny Xie
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2:30pm // Desert Island Poems: Paul Muldoon and Rita Dove with Vona Groarke
Each poet chooses the five poems they would bring to a desert island with them.
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4pm // Paul Muldoon and Rita Dove
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Presented with generous support from the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation, Culture Ireland, Tourism Ireland, and Alan Klein.