The second annual Knoxville Poetry Festival is Thursday, Friday and Saturday of this week at Lawson-McGhee Library downtown.

Thursday: series of readings at 2:30, 5:30 and 7:30 by young poets from the University of Tennessee's Creative Writing Program

Friday, 6:00 PM: Knoxville legend RB Morris

Saturday, 1:00 PM to 5 PM: Poets, performance artists and musicians, outdoors on the plaza behind Lawson-McGhee

Lots more details (Greek food!) in the press release, read more...

The second annual Knoxville Poetry Festival is Thursday, Friday and Saturday of this week at Lawson-McGhee Library downtown. More than 35 poets and performance poets will participate, with well-known literary artists such as R.B. Morris, Marilyn Kallet, Jeff Daniel Marion, Linda Parsons Marion and Art Smith performing alongside a couple dozen of Knoxville's finest poetic voices, including Knoxville originals Jack Rentfro, Judy Loest, Kali Meister, Daniel Roop, Laura Still, and many others. This year we will feature, among much else, the launch of new books by Marianne Worthington, Connie Green, Patricia Waters and RB Morris. See the schedule below for reading times.

The festival kicks off on Thursday with a series of readings (2:30, 5:30 and 7:30) by some of the finest young poets from the University of Tennessee's Creative Writing Program, hosted by acclaimed poets Marilyn Kallet and Art Smith.

On Friday at 6:00 Knoxville legend RB Morris will appear in a solo performance, in celebration of the launch this month of his new book Early Fires, from Iris Press.

Finally, on Saturday from 1:00 to 5:00 a wide range of poets, performance artists and musicians will take the stage outdoors on the plaza behind Lawson-McGhee. There will be Greek food from Vera Pantanizopoulis of the Big Orange Chevron deli, hammer dulcimer performances by Tim Simek, tables of books and CD's by area writers and musicians, and music from Phil Pollard and his Band of Humans. (See schedule below.)

Bring your neighbors, bring your dog, bring your neighbor's dog! Bring your sour old uncle! It's a laid-back good time in downtown Knoxville, and it's all free and open to the public.

One last thing -- limited edition broadsides will be available at the Festival, featuring poems by Marilyn Kallet, Art Smith, Jeff Daniel Marion, Linda Parsons Marion, RB Morris, and Judy Loest.

Below you will find more details about Festival events, including reading times for various poets. For more info, contact Brian Griffin, Writer-in-Residence at Knox County Libraries: taylorprize@yahoo.com, or 719-6823. See you there!

MORE DETAILS:

On Thursday, April 27, students from Dr. Marilyn Kallet’s classes will read at 2:30 and 5:30 on the mezzanine at Lawson-McGhee, followed at 7:30 by Dr. Arthur Smith’s graduate students – a group that includes Austin Church, Jesse Graves, Otis Haschemeyer, Charlotte Pence, and Ben Samples.

On Friday, April 27, at 6:00 PM Knoxville legend R.B. Morris will read and discuss his new book of poetry, Early Fires (Iris Press 2007) in the Arts @ the Library Room of Lawson-McGhee. Morris is a poet, playwright, recording artist and musician who currently serves as Writer-in-Residence at the University of Tennessee Libraries .

The outdoor portion of the festival takes place on the plaza behind Lawson-McGhee on Saturday, April 28, from 1:00 to 5:00 P.M.

Saturday begins with readings at 1:00 by Marilyn Kallet and Art Smith, followed at 1:30 by Connie Green, Marianne Worthington, and Patricia Waters, each reading from their new poetry collections.

At 2:00 on Saturday performance poets Kali Meister, Daniel Roop, Ben Samples, Jessie Janeshek and Shoshanna Cole will perform, along with performance poets from Austin-East High School.

At 3:00 on Saturday poets Jeff Daniel Marion, Linda Parsons Marion and Edward Francisco will perform, followed at 3:30 by Donna Doyle, Judy Loest, Laura Still and Wendy Smith.

The afternoon closes with a 4:00 performance by spoken word artist Jack Rentfro, with the music of Phil Pollard and His Band of Humans.