Portsmouth Poet Laureate Program

A Bridge to Japan: A Poetry Broadside Contest

Nov 25, 2020 | Events, Poet Laureate's Corner

A Bridge to Japan: A Poetry Broadside Contest Presented by the Portsmouth (NH) Poet Laureate Program We are pleased to offer a digital poetry broadside contest. Final judging will be performed by poet and translator Patrick Donnelly. Winning entries will be awarded...

Peace at the Beach

Jan 31, 2020 | Poems from the Hoot

Put the board on top. Hit the tar. Ten minutes later, get out of the car. It’s a sunny day. It is what a surfer craves. I’m at peace with myself, I’m at peace with the waves. I paddle out to the sea. It’s a beautiful day for the board peace and me. —...

7th Annual Youth Hoot on January 9th, 2020!

Dec 10, 2019 | Events

It’s the 7th Annual Youth Hoot! Students from local schools will join us as our January Featured Readers. If you’ve attended our Youth Hoot previously, you have seen and heard outstanding young poets. We hope that you will join us in celebrating the young voices...

December Hoot: Carand Burnet and Jim Rioux at the Roundabout Diner & Lounge (December 4th)

Dec 2, 2019 | Events

Join us at the Roundabout Diner & Lounge for December’s Hoot, featuring poets Carand Burnet and Jim Rioux! (Wednesday, Dec. 4th, 7pm-9pm) Jim Rioux‘s work has been published in such journals as Prairie Schooner, The North American Review, Five Points, and The Café...

November Hoot: UNH MFA Poets Casey Lynn Roland and Anna Ohara at Portsmouth Public Library (Wednesday, Nov. 6th)

Oct 30, 2019 | Events

Join us in the Levenson Room at Portsmouth Public Library for November’s Hoot, featuring UNH MFA Poets Casey Lynn Roland and Anna Ohara! (Wednesday, Nov. 6th, 7pm-9pm) Casey Lynn Roland is a second year graduate student at the University of New Hampshire,...

CANCELED- October Hoot: Andrew Merton and Jim Rioux

Sep 17, 2019 | Events

This event has been canceled due to unforeseen circumstances, we are hoping to reschedule so please check back!-PPLP Andrew Merton has been a reporter and columnist for the Boston Herald Traveler and the Boston Globe. His nonfiction has appeared in publications...

Sept. Hoot: Ft. Robert Carr and John Burroughs

Aug 15, 2019 | Events

Robert Carr is the author of Amaranth, published in 2016 by Indolent Books and The Unbuttoned Eye, a full-length 2019 collection from 3: A Taos Press. Among other publications his poetry appears in the American Journal of Poetry, Bellevue Literary Review, Crab Orchard...

No, it’s not a lawn mower

May 30, 2019 | Poems from the Hoot

Mother Mary, Jesus and Joseph! I thought it was a mower– thought I was hearing the common sound of cutting grass. It is the hottest, most humid day here– just a few days after the Fourth of July and my attention is thrown to the front of our...

June Hoot: Ft. Rachel Contreni Flynn and Fred Marchant

May 20, 2019 | Events

Rachel Contreni Flynn is the the co-editor of Beloit Poetry, Journaland, the author of two award-winning full-length poetry collections, Ice, Mouth, Song (Tupelo Press 2005) and Tongue (Red Hen Press 2010) as well as a chapbook, Haywire (Bright Hill Press 2009). In...

May 1st Hoot featuring Incoming and Outgoing Poets Laureate

Apr 5, 2019 | Events

Join us in saying goodbye to Mike Nelson and welcoming our 12th Poet Laureate, Tammi Truax!