Event Schedule - Third Annual St. Augustine PoetFest
Free Event Happening April 11-13
“A three-day celebration of creative writing and reciting
in the Nation’s Oldest City.”
All events are open to all and are held free of charge, thanks to the support of Flagler College, St. Johns Cultural Council, and Ancient City Poets.
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Thursday, April 11, 2024
Day One of Three
6 pm to 9:00 pm
Beat Poet Summit followed by community open mic hour
The festival kicks off with a Beat Poet Summit on Thursday night featuring ten minutes of podium time awarded to any past or present Beat Poet Laureate who gets “On the Road ” like Kerouac, and travels to the Sunshine State. A community open mic will follow. The sign-up sheet for the open mic portion is available at 6 p.m. and open to the first 10 people. Please limit your time at the podium to five minutes.
Free open to the public event at the Waterworks.
Door open 6:00 pm | Showtime 7:00 pm
more info about the National Beat Poetry Foundation
https://nationalbeatpoetryfoundation.org/
Friday, April 12, 2024
Day Two of Three
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Flagler College campus
The festival continues during the day on Friday with author discussions, an improv comedy hour, author talks, and a keynote presentation by George Wallace at the historic downtown campus of Flagler College. In the evening, the English Department will host an off-campus open mic.
Registration, Book Bazaar, and Festival Contact Center
9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Ringhaver Student Center, 1st Floor, in Jay’s Place located at 50 Sevilla Street
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Virginia Room
Located Flagler College's Ringhaver Student Center
Second Floor
50 Sevilla Street
St. Augustine, FL 32084
10:00 a.m. to 10:50 a.m. Virginia Room
"Blending Poetry and Comedy"
Poet Sam Rubenstein (New Jersey) will present performance pieces that incorporate comedy into his poetry.
11:00 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. Virginia Room
Women and Writing: Spotlight on Women Who Inspire
Representation matters: How highlighting women’s voices can inspire change and re-balance our world. Followed by book signing and meet and greet. Featuring presentations by Shannon E. Stephan (Florida), Eleanor Tremayne (Florida), Cynthia Atkins (Virginia), Victoria Nations (Florida).
12:30 p.m. to 1:20 p.m. Virginia Room San Diego Scene Spotlight
Featuring Christophver R. and New Generation Beat Poet Laureate (2022-Lifetime) Chris Vannoy, two members of a poetry performance group called The Mightier P.E.N.S. (Poetic Expeditionary Nation of Semanticists)
1:30 p.m. to 2:20 p.m. Virginia Room Virginia Room Improv Comedy Spotlight presented by Amy Angelilli and The Adventure Project
2:30 p.m. to 3:20 p.m. Virginia Room "Poetry in Their Voices: Menorcans in St. Augustine
What sings in Menorcan voices: a cadence, a handed-down vocabulary, stories that hold tears and laughter? Listen to the music of poetry found in Menorcan lives by St. Augustine Menorcan Poet Laureate Ann Browning Masters. Followed by a book sign and meet and greet.
4:00 p.m. to 4:50 p.m. Virginia Room St. Augustine PoetFest Keynote Presentation by George Wallace (New York) followed by book signing and meet and greet.
6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Open Mic Event with Emcee Kailey Tucker
Hosted by the English Department of Flagler College at Relampago Coffee Lab,
located at 74 Spanish Street. The signup sheet is out at 6:00 PM.
Join us for an evening under the stars.
Saturday, April 13, 2024
Day Three of Three
The festival continues today and concludes in the afternoon with an awards ceremony for the winners of the St. Johns Cultural Council Haiku Contest, followed by a reception.
9:00 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Flagler College campus
Student and Faculty showcases, St. John County Library display, a Book Bazaar, storytelling seminar, a live staged play reading, author talks and panels, and featured poets.
Registration, Book Bazaar, and Festival Contact Center
9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Ringhaver Student Center, 1st Floor, in Jay’s Place located at 50 Sevilla Street
Featuring author recordings and publications, as well as displays by FLARE: The Flagler Review (Flagler College) and Elan (Douglas High School of the Arts Literary Journal).
Typewriter Poets and Indie Market Pop Up
11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Student Center Paver Patio
Join us in the garden area between Markland Place and the back of the Ringhaver Student Center at 50 Sevilla Street. Shop for crafts and handmade items from local creatives and become captivated by the allure of pounding typewriters keys. Poets will compose poems on the spot with their vintage typewriters.
Gamache-Koger Theater
Located in Flagler College's Ringhaver Student Center
First Floor
50 Sevilla Street
St. Augustine, FL 32084
10 am to 10:50 am Gamache-Koger Theater Student Showcase presented by Flagler College English Department. Featured Flagler College Students: Haley Butzer-Collins, Sophia Falber, Jaden Rudd, Aidan West.
11 am to 11:50 am Gamache-Koger Faculty Showcase presented by Ancient City Poets. Teachers and professors from Flagler College and beyond share their poetry.
Featured Faculty: Ben Atkinson (Flagler College), Sarah Karowski (Tallahassee Community College), M.L. Williams (Valdosta State University).
12:00 pm to 12:50 pm Gamache-Koger Theater
Live Staged Reading presented by Amy Goldin and A Classic Theatre.
1:00 pm to 1:50 pm Gamache-Koger Theater
“Storytelling Connections: St. Augustine and Beyond”.
Margaret Kaler and Tale Tellers of St. Augustine with guests making connections with stories.
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Virginia Room
Located at Flagler College's Ringhaver Student Center
Second Floor
50 Sevilla Street
St. Augustine, FL 32084
10 am to 10:50 am Virginia Room
“Kerouac’s Last Two Years - St. Petersburg, Florida”.
Larry Jaffe, Lifetime New Generation Beat Poet Laureate, is a Poet in Residence at the Jack Kerouac House in St. Petersburg. Mr. Jaffe will talk about the author and read from his work. Kerouac lived with his wife Stella and his mother Gabrielle in the house at 5169 10th Ave North in St. Petersburg, Florida from 1967 until his death on October 21, 1969, although Kerouac had lived in central Florida off and on for over a decade. His house at the corner of 10th Ave North and 5th Street was the last place Kerouac came off the road.
11:00 am to 11:50 am Virginia Room
“From Bookstaplers to Substack - Publishing 101”
Independent editors and creatives examine the role of self in self publishing.
PANEL: Johnny Masiulewicz (Happy Tapir Press), Dustin Brookshire (Limp Wrist), Lindsay Anderson (Mischief on the River), Andrea LeDew (For Random Learning Comes).
12:00 pm to 12:50 Virginia Room
Music and the Muse featuring poet Claire Conroy (Maine) performing to improvisational music by singer songwriter Taylor Teachout followed by a Q&A discussion on how music can take your poetry to the next level.
1:00 pm to 1:50 Virginia Room
"Florida Is Haunted: Poetic Ghosts In The Sunshine State''.
Poetry inspired by hauntings and the haunted. As Jacques Derrida said — "It is the question of ghosts." Featured Florida Poets: Ma Bones, Nick Dunkenstein, Keri Foster, Damon Thomas
2:00 pm to 2:50 pm Virginia Room
Guest Presentation by Outlaw Poet Ron Whitehead (Tennessee)
"The Antinomian Outsider aspect of The Beat Generation" followed by book signing and meet and greet.
3:00 pm to 4:40 pm Virginia Room
Closing Event
3:00 pm Words from Festival Chair Chris Bodor
3:05 pm Welcoming Words from City of St. Augustine Vice Mayor Roxanne Horvath
3:15 pm to Presentation by City of St. Augustine Poet Laureate Norma Sherry
3:30 pm to 4:30 pm
Presentation by St. Johns Cultural Council Executive Director,
Christina Parrish Stone "Winners of 4th Annual St. Johns County Haiku Contest".
Followed by Celebratory Reception on the Tinlin Landing
2nd Floor lobby
Ringhaver Student Center
50 Sevilla Street