AMHERST — Amherst will once again become the center of a vibrant poetry community this month as the Emily Dickinson Museum hosts its annual Tell It Slant Poetry Festival, running Sept. 15 through 21.
The weeklong event, held both online and at the museum, celebrates the enduring influence of Emily Dickinson while spotlighting contemporary voices who continue to push the boundaries of poetic expression.
Brooke Steinhauser, senior director of programs at the Emily Dickinson Museum, describes the festival as a place where the past and present meet.
“At the museum, we are really interested in creating spaces where Emily Dickinson’s revolutionary poetic voice can be in dialogue with contemporary poets,” she said. “There are poetry workshops and panels exploring elements of the craft through facets of Dickinson’s life, including letter writing, cooking, gardening and more.”
Even events not directly tied to Dickinson’s poems, Steinhauser noted, carry her spirit. “We feel that Dickinson’s legacy of courageous creativity and the sense of being here in the place where she worked, imbues the experience for participants.”
This year’s headliners include Terrance Hayes and Krysten Hill, two nationally recognized poets whose work reflects pressing questions of identity, culture and humanity. Their live readings will take place outdoors on the lawn of the museum, between Dickinson’s Homestead and The Evergreens, and will be simultaneously streamed for virtual audiences worldwide.
“We’re so thrilled Terrance Hayes and Krysten Hill are headlining this year’s festival,” Steinhauser said. “In selecting festival headliners each year, we look for poets who are thinking deeply about their creative practice and why self-expression through poetry is critical to the human experience.”
Hayes and Hill join an impressive roster of past festival headliners, including Carl Phillips, Marilyn Nelson, Tracy K. Smith, Ada Limón, Jericho Brown, and Ocean Vuong.
Perhaps the most distinctive feature of the festival is the Emily Dickinson Poetry Marathon, an ambitious undertaking in which participants collectively read aloud all 1,789 of Dickinson’s poems.
“Magical,” Steinhauser said simply when asked to describe the experience. “The Emily Dickinson Poetry Marathon is one of our longest and most cherished traditions here. During the virtual sessions, readers really are tuning in from all over the world. We have had folks reading at 3 a.m. their time. The variety of voices is so rich and compelling. Every year I hear poems that I could swear I have never heard before, but it’s really just that each new voice brings new understandings and awareness to the poems.”
The festival has grown significantly in reach since adopting a hybrid format. Last year, participants joined from 55 countries and all 50 states, demonstrating the global appeal of Dickinson’s work and the community built around it.
“Emily Dickinson’s reach goes far beyond Amherst, and we recognize that many of our festival participants may never have the chance to physically set foot in the place she called home,” Steinhauser said. “It’s amazing being able to share a communal experience with people from time zones all around the globe. We particularly enjoy seeing participants connect with each other in these virtual spaces — sometimes they even form their own local or regional poetry groups or create their own email groups to stay in contact.”
That sense of community, both local and global, has become a hallmark of the festival. “Many virtual participants are now devoted annual Festival attendees, and we look forward to seeing them every year,” Steinhauser said.
Ultimately, the festival aims to spark creativity, reflection and connection. “We hope that the festival offers people a place for connection and community, and a sense of the vitality of poetry,” Steinhauser said. “We hope participating poets leave feeling encouraged to keep investing in their own practice, and perhaps with some new resources in hand. For other attendees, we hope they feel inspired to consider the role of creative expression in their own lives, whatever form it may take. And overall, we hope folks will feel that the Emily Dickinson Museum is a place to continue seeking inspiration and connection.”
As poets and readers gather in Amherst and across the globe, the Tell It Slant Poetry Festival reaffirms Dickinson’s enduring power to inspire and serves as a reminder that poetry continues to be a vital communal art form.
The museum is located at 280 Main St. in Amherst. For a more detailed schedule and ticket information, visit www.emilydickinsonmuseum.org.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
