a message from PSOV Executive Secretary…

Dear Vermont Poets,

On August 8th there will be a Gathering of Voices at the Highland Center for the Arts in Greensboro, VT. The Poetry Society of Vermont would love to invite you (members and non-members) to read your poem during one of two open mic sessions at this Summer Festival –names will be randomly selected from the list of Vermont poets who sign up ahead of time and will be given 3 minutes at the podium to read. If you wish to enter into the Open Mic Raffle, complete the form linked below no later than July 24th:

Open Mic Sign Up: Gathering Voices Open Mic sign up form

We will let you know if you are selected prior to the event and in what order. We hope your name is drawn from the proverbial hat. Hope to see you all there on August 8th. It will be an awesome occasion all around.

first Ekphrastic Collaboration Exhibit

We are excited to share Julie H. Fonte’s announcement of Stone Valley Art’s upcoming Ekphrastic Collaborative Exhibit. You may recognize several Poetry Society of Vermont members in the list of poets and artists who responded to the call for submissions in this wildly creative event offering writers and visual artists an opportunity to collaborate and have fun! 

by Elizabeth R. McCarthy

This month’s Sunday Afternoon Poetry at the Jaquith featured Nadine Budbill reading from the new and revised edition of Judevine: a Love Song for a Place and Its People. Those of us who made the decision to spend maybe the first warm and sunny afternoon of spring inside were richly rewarded by Nadine Budbill’s readings of her father’s work. 

Thursday May 28th, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

PSOV Membership Chair Jannetta Lamourt will facilitate this online reading which will feature winners of the 2026 Spring Poetry Contest, followed by PSOV members open mic. Please indicate in the form linked below whether you would like to read a poem or will be just listening.

The online reading will be on Google Meet (a link to the meeting will be emailed to all registered members prior to May 28th.)

Register Here: https://forms.gle/RDR7aMrY3TyvDFbN6

To mark the final day of National Poetry Month, PSOV members gathered at the Kellogg-Hubbard Library to share their poems. It was an inspiring afternoon filled with diverse voices and heartfelt performances.

While we had eleven readers join us, we’ve compiled a highlight video featuring seven of those performances (technical gremlins got the better of a few recordings!).

Watch the highlights below:

Note to Members: A huge thank you to daithi’ for organizing this event and to everyone who stepped up to the mic and made it so memorable.

video by Elizabeth R. McCarthy

In case you missed the 2026 Poetry Out Loud National Finals, you can watch some intrepid high school students tackle recital before a live audience. According to the emcee, 130,000 students competed for 54 state slots. You can watch it on the link above. If really curious, you can also research what poems were selected and suggested for the contest at https://poetryoutloud.org/search/?type=poems. [In recognition of America’s 250th anniversary in 2026, the 2025-2026 Poetry Out Loud program focused on poems that celebrate the rich tapestry of American history and culture.] I would strongly encourage watching the incredible performances. -daithí

Continue Reading Poetry Out Loud 2026