Literature

17th Annual PoetryFest

Curated by Vona Groarke

RESERVE

Details

All events on Saturday and Sunday are free. Tickets for the Friday launch event, Favorite Irish Poems, are $25/$56/$68 (inclusive of fees).
Date(s)

Fri, Nov 20 - Sun, Nov 22, 2026

Contact

boxoffice@irishartscenter.org
888-616-0274

Location

The JL Greene Theatre
Irish Arts Center 
726 11th Avenue 
Hell's Kitchen, NYC

Overview

Our fall 2026 / spring 2027 member presale is on NOW. IAC members, please log in to access tickets to our new season. Tickets go on sale to the public on Thursday, July 23.

Our longstanding festival gathers writers from Ireland, Northern Ireland, and North America for a weekend of conversations and readings, starting with Friday evening’s much-loved Favorite Irish Poems launch event celebrating Irish poetry across the ages.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20 // 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.

RESERVE >

PoetryFest's Favorite Irish Poems event was inspired in part by Robert Pinsky's Favorite Poem Project.


SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21 // 2PM, 3:30PM, 5PM
Free readings and conversations with festival poets

2pm // Threa Almontaser and Dean Browne
RESERVE > 

3:30pm // Stephanie Burt and Annemarie Ní Churreáin
RESERVE >

5pm // In Conversation: Poetry & Writing About Poetry
Stephanie Burt and Eric Falci, moderated by Vona Groarke
RESERVE >


SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22 // 1PM, 2:30PM, 4PM
Free readings and conversations with festival poets

1pm // Megan Fernandes and Susannah Dickey 
RESERVE >

2:30pm // Desert Island Poems: Kevin Young and Mary O'Malley with Vona Groarke
Each poet chooses the five poems they would bring to a desert island.
RESERVE >

4pm // Kevin Young and Mary O'Malley
RESERVE >


 

Bios

Vona Groake (curator)
Threa Almontaser
Dean Browne
Susannah Dickey
Eric Falci
Annemarie Ní Churreáin
Mary O'Malley
Stephanie Burt
Megan Fernandes
Kevin Young

Featured Media

Interview with Vona Groarke

NYU Press
"A dazzling exploration of a life caught between different cultures"

The Guardian on Threa Almontaser
Martina Evans on Dean Browne

Irish Times
Interview with Susannah Dickey

Irish Times
Eric Falci Book Chat

WATCH
Annemarie Ní Churreáin // IAC Poem of the Week

WATCH
Mary O'Malley on the Southword Poetry Podcast

LISTEN
Stephanie Burt on Taylor Swift and Some Other Favorite Geniuses

New York Times
Interview with Megan Fernandes

The Creative Independent
Kevin Young on His Book “Night Watch"

New Yorker

Related

Our Supporters

Irish Arts Center programs are supported, in part, by government, foundation, and corporate partners including Culture Ireland, the agency for the promotion of Irish arts worldwide; public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office and the New York City Council; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature; Howard Gilman Foundation; Tourism Ireland; the Jerome L. Greene Foundation; the Brandt Jackson Foundation; the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation; Charina Endowment Fund; the Ireland Funds; the Shubert Foundation, Inc.; the Arnhold Foundation; the Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation; National Endowment for the Arts; the Irish Institute of New York; the Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater; the MacMillan Family Foundation; Bloomberg Philanthropies; the Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, New York; Northern Ireland Bureau; Invest NI; CIE Tours; the Covillo Lynch Foundation; M&T Bank; the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Consulate of Ireland in New York; the British Council; the St. Patrick's Day Foundation, NYC; the Hyde and Watson Foundation; the H.W. Wilson Foundation; the Tara Circle, Inc; the Manhattan Tourism Foundation; the Harkness Foundation for Dance; and thousands of generous donors like you.

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