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Featured Poet Readings

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Split This Rock will enter a fallow season on July 1, 2021, and all of our external programming and publishing efforts are on pause until April 1, 2022. We’re excited for time to dig into deeper wells of creativity for: 1) expanding the organizations’ capacity for working towards liberation; 2) defining more concretely what working towards liberation means at Split This Rock; 3) increasing the impact of our poetry, resistance, and community building offerings; and 4) more deeply aligning the organization’s mission with its systems, protocols, and practices. Learn more about the inspiration, projects, and goals for fallow season at the News from Split This Rock webpage. Visit the fallow season webpage to explore responses to frequently asked questions. We’re eager to continue engaging with you! To be invited to fallow season community gatherings we’ll be hosting, be sure to complete this online form.

We are thrilled to present some of the most innovative and necessary poets of our time at Split This Rock Poetry Festival 2016. Each day of the festival, after the daytime sessions, there is a FREE reading by these stunning poets.

All of the featured reading take place at Grovesnor Auditorium at the National Geographic (1145 17th St NW, Washington, DC 20036: Entrance on M Street) and are open to the general public. Readings include ASL Interpreters and books will be available for sale by Upshur Street Books.

Thursday, April 14 | 7:30 pm-9 pm: Aracelis Girmay, Craig Santos Perez, Ross Gay, 2015 Annual Poetry Contest winner Sara Brickman, and a member of the award winning DC Youth Slam Team. Learn more on the the Facebook event page.

Friday, April 15 | 7:30 pm-9 pm: Jennifer Bartlett, Jan Beatty, Regie Cabico, 2016 Annual Poetry Contest winner Lauren Alleyne, and a member of the award winning DC Youth Slam Team. Learn more on the Facebook event page.

Saturday, April 16 | 4:30 pm-6 pm: Dominique Christina, Dawn Lundy Martin, Martha Collins, and a member of the award winning DC Youth Slam Team.
Learn more on the Facebook event page.

Saturday, April 16 | 8 pm-9:30 pm: Nikky Finney, Reginald Dwayne Betts, Ocean Vuong, and a member of the award winning DC Youth Slam Team.
Learn more on the Facebook event page.

Sunday, April 17 | 11:30 am-1 pm: Rigoberto González, Zeina Hashem Beck, Linda Hogan, and a member of the award winning DC Youth Slam Team.
Learn more on the Facebook event page.