CHESTERTOWN — The 2025 edition of the Kent County Poetry Festival will have a new offering, a poetry jam session at the Garfield Center for the Arts at the Prince Theatre on Friday, April 4 at 7 p.m.
Kent County native Queen D will emcee an evening of local spoken word artists backed by the Jam Band comprised of Gerry Werner, Vaughn Bratcher and JR McKinney.
Special guest Lady Brion, the poet laureate of the State of Maryland, also will perform.
The Garfield Center for the Arts is located at 210 High St. in downtown Chestertown.
The main event is Saturday, April 5 at 7 p.m. when acclaimed poet, Guggenheim Fellow and a National Endowment For the Arts Fellow Denise Duhamel (“Pink Lady,” “Second Story” and “Queen for a Day: Selected and New Poems”) will be the headliner. She will read from her work and then be interviewed by NPR’s Fresh Air literary critic Maureen Corrigan at the Garfield Center for the Arts.
The weekend also will include a Saturday afternoon eco-poetry workshop with Kent Cultural Alliance resident artist Austen Camille at the Sultana Education Center’s Lawrence Wetlands Preserve.
The festival will conclude on Sunday, April 6 at Robert Ortiz Studios (207 S. Cross St.) with the annual poetry open mic from 2 to 4 p.m.
Some events require tickets and some require registration. Look at the Kent Cultural Alliance website carefully if you would like to attend or participate in the various programs.
For tickets, registration or additional information, visit www.kentculture.org/poetryfest/.
Have questions? Call Kent Cultural Alliance at 410-778-3700.
Kent County Poetry Festival is presented by Kent Cultural Alliance, The Bookplate, Washington College’s Rose O’Neill Literary House and Robert Ortiz Studios.