Find Ilya Kaminsky’s Set List Here

The 13th Annual New York City Poetry Festival

July 13 + 14, 2024

Nolan Park, Governors Island

11:00 AM - 6:00 PM


Ready for one of the most unique experiences you’ll have this summer in New York City?

Travel by water to Governors Island and submerge yourself in the awe-inspiring world of New York City poetry—and so much more. You will never experience anything like it.

Hear poetry hailing from every corner of NYC

Share your poems on our open-mic stage

Soak up the sun with friends, including the ones you’ll make

Enjoy food and drinks from a delicious range of NYC food trucks and vendors

Explore local art, bookmakers, music, theater, and the weird and natural wonders of the island


Our Headliners

Capture the wonderful soul of New York City with readings from some of the city’s most lauded poets.


At the New York City Poetry Festival, it’s all poetry to us.

What is poetry, really? Words on a page? Clowns in colorful socks? Accordion music? Parasols? Nature? Abandoned buildings? A solar-powered merry-go-round? These are simply a few of the magical, poetic experiences you will encounter.


Why do people love the New York City Poetry Festival? See for your yourself.

On Governor’s Island, poetry is alive and it is for everyone.
— Matt Grant, Lit Hub
It’s amazing an event so profoundly transformative exists at all AND it’s free. I love taking the ferry out to that tiny island of poetry each summer.
— Michaela, PSNY Member
I spotted a disproportionate number of urbanites with straw hats tilted on their heads in a suspiciously jaunty manner.
— Katie Wudel, The Rumpus

Join us and get to know The Poetry Society of New York!

 
 

The Poetry Society of New York has a simple mission: to redefine poetry’s place in our culture through a growing portfolio of innovative experiments and experiences.