A podium that reads "Ancient City Poets" overlayed on a fuzzy image of the Ponce de Leon Hotel at Flagler College.

2024 St. Augustine PoetFest

The Ancient City celebrates National Poetry Month with this three-day festival.

Thursday - Saturday, Apr. 11 - 13, 2024 | Times and Locations Vary

2024 St. Augustine PoetFest

In and around the Ringhaver Student Center
50 Sevilla Street
St. Augustine, FL 32084

DISCLAIMER: The details of this event are still subject to change. We encourage you to verify event times and details with the organizers.

For the third year in a row, Flagler College, Ancient City Poets, and the St. Johns Cultural Council present a three-day poetry festival to celebrate literary heritage and to connect the creative community.

St. Augustine PoetFest 2024 takes place throughout the city at various cultural venues and includes events ranging from poetry readings to improv showcases.

All Poetfest 2024 events are free and open to the public.

The historic St. Augustine Waterworks — a brick building against a blue sky.

Day 1 — Thursday, April 11

Festival Kick-Off:

Beat Poet Summit & Community Open Mic

St. Augustine PoetFest 2024 will start with a night of shared poetry at the St. Johns County Waterworks building. For the first hour, poets who have been recognized as "Beat Poet Laureates" of their prospective states (current or incumbent) by the National Beat Poetry Foundation will perform their pieces. The second hour of this kick-off event will be a community open mic night, where local poets and the public are invited to share their most recent writing pieces.

Doors open at 6:00 p.m., with the sign-up sheet available for interested performers until the 7:00 p.m. showtime.

Admission: Free and open to all members of the public.

When: Thursday, April 11, 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Where: The Waterworks, 184 San Marco Avenue, St. Augustine, Florida 32084 (Free parking available onsite.)

Note: While the address is 184 San Marco Avenue, the only driveway on San Marco is Exit Only. Access to the Waterworks is through the St. Augustine Main Library parking lot. (Use 1960 North Ponce de Leon in your GPS.)

The statue of Henry Flagler, located outside the main entrance of Flagler College in St. Augustine.

Day 2 — Friday, April 12

Day two includes a variety of events throughout the city from 10:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. During the day, performances, lectures, author discussions, and workshops will be held on the Flagler College campus. An open mic event will follow in the evening at Relampago Coffee Lab.

Flagler College Campus

Friday, April 1210:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.Book BazaarOutside Ringhaver Student CenterPoetFest brochures and schedules available. Books and recordings from local authors and featured poets will be for sale. 

Ringhaver Student Center — 50 Sevilla Street

Friday, April 1210:00 a.m. - 10:50 a.m.Blending Poetry and ComedyThe Virginia Room, 2nd FloorNew Jersey Poet Sam Rubenstein shares a series of comedic poetry performances.
Friday, April 1211:00 a.m. - 12:20 a.m.Women in Writing: Spotlight on Women Who InspireThe Virginia Room, 2nd FloorWith presentations by Shannon E. Stephen, Eleanor Tremayne, Cynthia Atkins, and Victoria Nations, this segment will discuss how representing women's voices can bring balance to creative and social spaces.
Friday, April 1212:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.San Diego Scene SpotlightThe Virginia Room, 2nd FloorPresented by Chris Vannoy (New Generation Beat Poet Laureate) and Christophver R., two members of The Mightier P.E.N.S. (Poetic Expeditionary Nation of Semanticists).
Friday, April 121:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.Improv Comedy SpotlightThe Virginia Room, 2nd FloorPresented by Amy Angelilli and The Adventure Project/Third Space Improv.
Friday, April 122:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.Menorcan Heritage in PoetryThe Virginia Room, 2nd FloorHistorical and cultural presentation by Ann Masters, Poet Laureate of the Menorcan Cultural Society.
Friday, April 124:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.Keynote PresentationThe Virginia Room, 2nd FloorGiven by George Wallace, a New York poet & writer in residence at the Walt Whitman Birthplace.
Outside of Relampago Coffee Lab in St. Augustine

Relampago Coffee Lab — 74 Spanish Street

Open Mic Night, hosted by the Flagler College English Dept.

After a full Friday of poetry and spoken word events, the Flagler English Department students and faculty invite locals and visitors to join them in an evening of creative performances. Tucked away in the back garden of Relampago, this regular open mic night event will include poetry and musical performances. Sign-up starts at 6:00 p.m., with the first reader beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Admission: Free and open to the public

When: Friday, April 12 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Where: Relampago Coffee Lab, 74 Spanish Street, St. Augustine, Florida 32084

(No parking available onsite. Paid lots nearby.)

The Gamache-Koger Theater at Flagler College in St. Augustine is inside the Ringhaver Student Center.

Day 3 — Saturday, April 13

Day three will see another day full of diverse and engaging sessions. Starting at 10:00 a.m. and concluding around 7:00 p.m., the final day of the festival will take place in various buildings on the Flagler College campus. The festival will conclude in the evening with an awards ceremony and reception.

Flagler College Campus —

Saturday, April 1310:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.PoetFest Alive!Outside of Ringhaver Student CenterPoetFest brochures and schedules available. The St. Johns County Library system's Book Mobile will also be onsite. 
Saturday, April 1311:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.Typewriter Poets and Indie Market Pop-UpBack Paver Patio of Ringhaver Student CenterLocated between Markland Place and the Ringhaver Student Center, this space will host a pop-up market space with local crafts and goods. Poets will also compose improvisational poems on their typewriters. 

Ringhaver Student Center — 50 Sevilla Street

Jay's Place — 1st Floor

Saturday, April 139:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.Registration, Book Bazaar, & Festival Contact CenterPublications, author recordings, and local student literary magazines for sale.

Ringhaver Student Center — 50 Sevilla Street

Gamache-Kroger Theater — 1st Floor

Saturday, April 1310:00 a.m. - 10:50 a.m.Student ShowcasePresented by Flagler College English Department.
Saturday, April 1311:00 a.m. - 11:50 a.m.Faculty ShowcasePresented by Flagler College English Department.
Saturday, April 1312:00 p.m. - 12:50 p.m.Dramatic Play Reading - "The Poet's Masque"Presented by Amy Goldin and A Classic Theatre.
Saturday, April 131:00 p.m. - 1:50 p.m.Storytelling ShowcasePresented by Margaret Kaler and the Tale Tellers of St. Augustine.

Ringhaver Student Center — 50 Sevilla Street

Virginia Room — 2nd Floor

Saturday, April 1310:00 a.m. - 10:50 a.m."Kerouac's Last Two Years - St. Petersburg, Florida"Larry Jaffe, Poet in Residence at the Jack Kerouac House, disusses and reads the works of the infamous writer, who lived with his wife and sister in St. Petersburg, Florida from 1967 until his death in 1969.
Saturday, April 1311 a.m. - 11:50 a.m."From Bookstaplers to Substack - Publishing 101"Dustin Brookshire (Limp Wrist Magazine) and Johnny Masiulewicz (Happy Tapir Press) examine the process of self-publishing.
Saturday, April 1312:00 p.m. - 12:50 p.m."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.
Saturday, April 131:00 p.m. - 1:50 p.m."Florida is Haunted: Poetic Ghosts in the Sunshine State"Featuring Ma Bones, Nick Dunkenstein, Keri Foster, Damon Thomas, enjoy an hour of poetry inspired by hauntings and the haunted. As Jacques Derrida said — "It is the question of ghosts."
Saturday, April 132:00 p.m. - 2:50 p.m."The Antinomian Outsider aspect of The Beat Generation"Presented by Outlaw poet Ron Whitehead, who hails from Tennessee.
Saturday, April 133:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.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"
Saturday, April 135:00 p.m.Celebratory ReceptionFinale celebration — poets and guests all invited!
 

The main organizer of the St. Augustine PoetFest is Florida Beat Poet Laureate, Chris Bodor. Click the email button on this event page to reach out to his team.

Glimpse into PoetFest 2024 Presenters

George Wallace, keynote speaker for St. Augustine PoetFest 2024, in front of a blooming cherry tree.
George Wallace, keynote speaker of PoetFest 2024.
Claire Conroy, seated with white hair and a microphone on a colorful stage.
Claire Conroy is a self-published author and spoken word poet whose subject matter drifts between the mundane and the universal.
Taylor Teachout, a young Black person, stands in front of green foliage holding a large sunflower.
Taylor Teachout is a singer-songwriter and "sometimes poet" who favors a whimsical, somber style.

 

Ron Whitehead, an older man with long hair and a braided beard in front of a black background.
"Outlaw Poet" and activist Ron Whitehead turns his focus to the natural world to create art and change in his community.

2024 St. Augustine PoetFest

In and around the Ringhaver Student Center
50 Sevilla Street
St. Augustine, FL 32084

Have a Question?

Editor's Note: We encourage you to verify event times and details with the organizers, as they may change.