In the wake of the spread of coronavirus, public events are being cancelled left and right. Poetry readings do not tend to draw large crowds, so some events may go on as planned. It’s best to call ahead to make sure that a reading has not been cancelled.
If you are sick, please stay home. The best way to prevent the spread of the virus is to wash your hands thoroughly and often (as long as it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice), to avoid touching your face, and to avoid contact with people who may have been exposed to the virus. The CDC has a list of precautions you should be taking.
These listings are current as of March 12, 2020.
Among the CANCELLED readings:
- Mary Buchinger, Jennifer Markell, and J.D. Scrimgeour (3/13) in JP
- A celebration of Stephen Jonas’s Arcana (3/14) at MIT Press Bookstore
Charles North (3/16) at MIT - Katherine Hollander and Angela Voras-Hills (3/16) at Blacksmith House
- David Ferry at Suffolk (3/17)
- Christian Wiman (3/23) at Blacksmith House
- Sara London and Nathan McClain (3/31) at Smith College (All Smith College Poetry Center readings are cancelled through the end of the semester)
- Anne Carson (4/1) Harvard Divinity School’s Ingersoll Lecture – “will take place in fall 2020 on a date to be determined”
- Joy Harjo (4/9) at Harvard
- Paisley Rekdal (4/14) at Smith College
Daniel Bouchard writes the following in his latest email update:
Remember: colleges do not lose revenue when a poetry reading is cancelled but bookstores do. Keep MIT Press Bookstore, Brookline Booksmith, Grolier, Harvard Bookstore, Porter Square Books, Bedlam Book Café in Worcester, I AM Books in the North End, and so on healthy – drop by and buy some books or order something online.
Readings and cancellations follow:
Friday, March 13, 7 pm
Matthew Lippman and Jacob Strautmann
Brookline Booksmith
Harvard Street, Coolidge Corner
Brookline, MA
Friday, March 13, 7:30 pm CANCELLED
Mary Buchinger, Jennifer Markell, and J.D. Scrimgeour
Chapter and Verse Literary Reading Series
Loring-Greenough House
12 South Street
Jamaica Plain, MA
Friday, March 13, 7 pm
Adam Falkner
Porter Square Books
25 White Street
Porter Square, Cambridge, MA
Saturday, March 14, 10:30 am
Joan Houlihan, Terence Hegarty, and Deb Goss
Wake up and Smell the Poetry
77 Main St.
Hopkinton, MA
Saturday, March 14, 3 pm
Zara Raab and Jodie Reyes
Powow River Poets Reading Series
Newburyport Public Library
92 State Street
Newburyport, MA
Saturday, March 14, 4 pm POSTPONED
A celebration of Stephen Jonas’s Arcana
with editors Dave Rich, Joseph Torra, and others
The Liminal Reading Series
The MIT Press Bookstore
301 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA
Sunday, March 15, 2 – 4 pm CANCELLED
Martha Collins and Lynn Powell
Brookline Poetry Series
Hunneman Hall, Brookline Village Library
361 Washington St.
Brookline, MA
Monday, March 16, 7 pm CANCELLED
Charles North
Stata Center, 32 Vassar Street
Room 32-141, MIT
Cambridge, MA
Monday, March 16, 8 pm CANCELLED
Katherine Hollander and Angela Voras-Hills
Blacksmith House Poetry
Spiegel Auditorium
56 Brattle Street
Cambridge, MA
$3
Tuesday, March 17, 7 pm
Moira J.
Poets and Plants
Pemberton Farms Marketplace
2225 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA
Tuesday, March 17, 7 pm CANCELLED
David Ferry
Suffolk University Poetry Center
Sawyer Library, second floor
73 Tremont Street
Boston, MA
Friday, March 20, 7-8 pm
Carol Hobbs and Pamela Gemme
Bedlam Book Cafe
138 Green St. Ste. 1
Worcester, MA
Saturday, March 21, 7 pm
Anna M. Warrock, Liz Anker, Jennifer Barber, Toni Bee, Judah Leblang, Lauren Leja, Lee Okan, In Paik, Renuka Raghavan, and Francine Trester
Solidarity Salon series
Community Church of Boston
565 Boylston Street
Boston, MA
Sunday, March 22, 3 pm
John Mulrooney and Danielle Legros Georges
Art by Elizabeth Doran
Xit the Bear Readings Series
The Press Room
90 Oxford St.
Somerville, MA
$5
Monday, March 23, 7 pm
David Ferry and Mary Szybist
The Katzenberg Center, 3rd floor
CGS, 871 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA
Monday, March 23, 7 pm
Oddball Magazine Presents
Morrill Memorial Library
33 Walpole St
Norwood, MA
Monday, March 23, 7-9 pm
Brad Rose and David P. Miller
Nixes Mate book launch
Trident Booksellers & Café
338 Newbury Street
Boston, MA
Monday, March 23, 8 pm CANCELLED
Christian Wiman
Blacksmith House Poetry
Spiegel Auditorium
56 Brattle Street
Cambridge, MA
$3
Tuesday, March 24, 6 pm
Eve Linn
Amesbury Monthly Reading Series
Amesbury Senior Center
68 Elm St.
Amesbury, MA
Wednesday, March 25, 6-7 pm
Jason Tandon
Bedlam Book Cafe
138 Green St. Ste. 1
Worcester, MA
Wednesday, March 25, 7 pm
Luke Salisbury, Denise Provost, and Zvi Sesling
A Hastings Room Reading Series event
First Church Cambridge
11 Garden Street, Harter Room
Cambridge, MA
Thursday, March 26, 7 – 9 pm CANCELLED
David Miller and Kate McCann
Rozzie Reads Poetry and Open Mic
Roslindale House
120 Poplar Street
Roslindale, MA
Saturday, March 28, 4 pm
Alysia Abbott reads Steve Abbott and Jim Cory reads Karl Tierney
The Liminal Reading Series
The MIT Press Bookstore
301 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA
Saturday, March 28, 4-6 pm
Alec Solomita and Philip Nikolayev
Outpost 186
186 Hampshire Street
Inman Square
Cambridge, MA
Saturday, March 28, 3:30 pm
Mary Bonina, Holly Guran, Deborah Melone, Elizabeth Quinlan, and Deana Tavares
The School Street Sessions: Women Reading Women
Omni Parker House, Brandeis Holmes Room on the Mezzanine
60 School Street
Boston, MA
Saturday, March 28, 6 – 8 pm
Neil Zagarella and Juliet Grames
IAWA Open Mic and Featured Reading
I AM Books
189 North Street
Boston, MA
Monday, March 30, 6 pm
Alan Gillis and David Wheatley
The Katzenberg Center, 3rd floor
CGS, 871 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA
Monday, March 30, 8 pm
David Barber and Katherine Coles
Blacksmith House Poetry
Spiegel Auditorium
56 Brattle Street
Cambridge, MA
$3
Tuesday, March 31, 7 pm
Jonathan Andersen
Poetorium at Starlite
Starlite Bar and Gallery
39 Hamilton Street
Southbridge, MA
Tuesday, March 31, 7:30 pm CANCELLED
Sara London and Nathan McClain
Campus Center Carroll Room
Smith College
Northampton, MA
Tuesday, March 31, 6 pm
Jos Charles and Jana Prikryl
Stratis Haviaras Reading
Thompson Room, Barker Center
Quincy Street
Cambridge, MA
Wednesday, April 1, 5:15 – 6:30 pm (POSTPONED)
Anne Carson
Harvard Divinity School’s Ingersoll Lecture
co-sponsored by the Center for the Study of World Religions
Norton’s Woods Conference Center
American Academy of Arts & Sciences
136 Irving Street
Cambridge, MA
Wednesday, April 1, 5:30 pm
Carmen Giménez Smith
Thompson Poet Reading Series
Carling-Sorenson Theater
Babson College, Wellesley, MA
Thursday, April 2, 5:30 pm
Monica Youn
McCormack Family Theater
70 Brown St.
Providence, RI
(free and open to public)
Thursday, April 2, 7 pm
William Evans
Brookline Booksmith
Harvard Street
Coolidge Corner, Brookline, MA
Saturday, April 4, 1 pm
Amanda Lou Doster
Everything Begins Somewhere book launch and reading
Federal Street Books
8 Federal St.
Greenfield, MA
Sunday, April 5, 3 pm
Askold Melnyczuk and Chịbuihe Obi Achịmbá
with art by Elizabeth Doran
Xit The Bear Reading Series
The Press Room
90 Oxford St.
Somerville, MA
$5
Monday, April 6, 8 pm
Donna Stonecipher and Lesle Lewis
Blacksmith House Poetry
Spiegel Auditorium
56 Brattle Street
Cambridge, MA
$3
Tuesday, April 7, 5:30 pm
Angie Estes
Lamont Forum Room
Lamont Library
11 Quincy Street
Cambridge, MA
Tuesday, April 7, 7pm
Jasmine Dreame Wagner
Artists&Archives Series
The Cube at MIT
20 Ames St., room E15-001
Cambridge, MA
Wednesday, April 8, 6 pm
Cathy Park Hong
Lamont Forum Room
Lamont Library
11 Quincy Street
Cambridge, MA
Thursday, April 9, 6 pm CANCELLED
Joy Harjo
Harvard University Native American Program
Harvard Art Museums
Menschel Hall, Lower Level
32 Quincy St.
Cambridge, MA
Thursday, April 9, 7 – 9 pm
Melinda Coppola and Jessie Strauss
Menino Arts Center, Home of the Hyde Park Art Association
26 Central Avenue
Hyde Park, MA
Saturday, April 11, 7 pm
Letter Press and Broadside
Opening Reception with Center for Book Arts
Grolier Poetry Bookshop
Plympton Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA
Tuesday, April 14, 7:30 pm
Natasha Trethewey and Megan Fernandes
Robert Lowell Memorial Lecture Series
Leventhal Center Auditorium, 233 Bay State Rd.
Boston, MA
Reception to follow at The BU Castle
Tuesday, April 14, 7:30 pm CANCELLED
Paisley Rekdal and HS Prizewinners
Campus Center Carroll Room
Smith College
Northampton, MA
Thursday, April 16, 7 pm
Michael Heller
Grolier Poetry Bookshop
Plympton Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA
Thursday, April 16, 7 pm
Jason Tandon and Martha Collins
Wellesley Books, 82 Central Street
Wellesley, MA
Saturday, April 18, 4 pm
Maggie Dubris and Michael Heller
The Liminal Reading Series
The MIT Press Bookstore
301 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA
Sunday, April 19, 4:30 pm
Major Jackson and Didi Jackson
THE LOOM, Poetry in Harrisville
23 Church St.
Harrisville, NH
Sunday, April 19, 2 – 4 pm
Vievee Francis and James Stotts
Brookline Poetry Series
Hunneman Hall, Brookline Village Library
361 Washington St.
Brookline, MA
Sunday, April 19, 2:30 pm
Linda Goldberg and members of the Workshop
Wayland Poetry Workshop
Wayland Public Library
5 Concord Road
Wayland, MA
Sunday, April 19, 3 pm
Andrea Cohen and Nathan McClain
Concord Poetry at the Library Series
Sponsored by the Friends of the Library
Concord Free Public Library
129 Main Street
Concord, MA
Sunday, April 19, 3 – 5 pm
Denise Bergman, Hilary Sallick, and Ravi Shankar
New Poetry and Open Mic
New England Poetry Club
Arts at the Armory Café
Somerville, MA
Wednesday, April 22, 7 pm
Omar Sakr, George Abraham, Chen Chen, and moira j.
Brookline Booksmith
Harvard Street
Coolidge Corner, Brookline, MA
Thursday, April 23, 7 pm
Xhevdet Bajra and Julia Gjika
Grolier Poetry Bookshop
Plympton Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA
Thursday, April 23, 7 – 9 pm
Martha Collins and Nancy Naomi Carlson
Rozzie Reads Poetry and Open Mic
Roslindale House
120 Poplar Street
Roslindale, MA
Thursday, April 23, 5:30 pm
Caroline Bergvall
McCormack Family Theater
70 Brown St.
Providence, RI
(free and open to public)
Thursday April 23, 7 pm
Anne Pluto, Marc Vincenz, and Michael Steffen
Celebrating Earth Day on its 50th
Somerville Public Library
79 Highland Ave
Somerville, MA
Saturday, April 25, 8:30 am – 4 pm
Newburyport Literary Festival Poetry Events:
Martha Collins, Michael Cantor, Charles Coe, Robert Crawford David Davis, Rachel DeWoskin, Midge Goldberg, Ernest Hilbert, X. J. Kennedy, Joan Kimball,
Chris O’Carroll, Linda Pastan, Susan de Sola
Paulette Turco, Anton Yakovlev
Central Congregational Church
14 Titcomb Street
Newburyport, MA
Saturday, April 25, 6 – 8 pm
Christine Casson and Rita Ciresi
Independent Bookstore Day
IAWA Open Mic and Featured Reading
I AM Books
189 North Street
Boston, MA
Monday, April 27, 8 pm
Chard deNiord and Nadia Colburn
Blacksmith House Poetry
Spiegel Auditorium
56 Brattle Street
Cambridge, MA
$3
Tuesday, April 28, 5:30 pm
Carla Schwartz, Feature poet (one of three) at Writers Read
Lee Public Library
100 Main Street
Lee, MA
Tuesday, April 28, 7 pm
Eileen Cleary
Poetorium at Starlite
Starlite Bar and Gallery
39 Hamilton Street
Southbridge, MA, MA
Tuesday, April 28, 7:30 pm CANCELLED
Diane Seuss
Weinstein Auditorium, Wright Hall
Smith College
Northampton, MA
Wednesday, April 29, 6 pm
Claudia Rankine
The T.S. Eliot Memorial Reading
Knafel Auditorium, Radcliffe Institute
10 Garden Street
Cambridge, MA
Thursday, April 30, 5:30 pm
Terrance Hayes
McCormack Family Theater
70 Brown St.
Providence, RI
(free and open to public)
Monday, May 4, 8 pm
Rafael Campo and Joan Naviyuk Kane
Blacksmith House Poetry
Spiegel Auditorium
56 Brattle Street
Cambridge, MA
$3
Sunday, May 10, 3 – 5 pm
Cathie Desjardins
Barbara Hill and Eve Linn
New Poetry and Open Mic
New England Poetry Club
Arts at the Armory Café
Somerville, MA
Thursday, May 14, 7 – 9 pm
Jamele Adams and Lindsey O’Neil
Menino Arts Center, Home of the Hyde Park Art Association
26 Central Avenue
Hyde Park, MA
Friday, May 15, from 7-8 pm
Alexis Ivy and David Blair
Bedlam Book Cafe
138 Green St. Ste. 1
Worcester, MA
Friday, May 29, from 7-8 pm
Joe Fusco Jr. and Jennifer Charpentier
Bedlam Book Cafe
138 Green St. Ste. 1
Worcester, MA
Saturday, May 16, 3 pm
Lewis Turco and Wendy Cannella
Powow River Poets Reading Series
Newburyport Public Library
92 State Street
Newburyport, MA
Sunday, May 17, 2 – 4 pm
Gabrielle Calvoccoressi and Alamgir Hashmi
Brookline Poetry Series
Hunneman Hall, Brookline Village Library
361 Washington St.
Brookline, MA
Sunday, May 17, 3 pm
Peter Balakian, Oksana Zabuzhko, Kythe Heller, and Scott Harney
presented by Megan Marshall
Arrowsmith Press Book Launch
First Parish Church in Cambridge
3 Church Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA
Sunday, May 17, 3 pm
Janet MacFadyen with photographer Stephen Schmidt
poetry reading/slideshow
Arms Library
Main St. & Bridge St.
Shelburne Falls, MA
Tuesday, May 26, 7 pm
Therese Gleason Carr
Poetorium at Starlite
Starlite Bar and Gallery
39 Hamilton Street
Southbridge, MA
Thursday, May 28, 7 – 9 pm
Dorian Kotsiopolous and Scott Withiam
Rozzie Reads Poetry and Open Mic
Roslindale House
120 Poplar Street
Roslindale, MA
Saturday, June 6, 4 pm
Kate Colby and Rachel Blau DuPlessis
The Liminal Reading Series
MIT Press Bookstore
301 Mass. Ave.
Cambridge, MA
Saturday, June 13, 3 pm
Pedro Poitevin and Marybeth Rua-Larsen
Powow River Poets Reading Series
Newburyport Public Library
92 State Street
Newburyport, MA
Garden of Words 