The 2026 Dodge Poetry Festival is the nation’s largest poetry festival and runs October 15-17 at NJPAC and other Newark venues.
Participating artists include U.S. Poet Laureate, Pulitzer Prize-winner, best-selling novelists, Guggenheim’s poet-in-residence, award-winning poets, and more. From free poetry workshops and Family Fun Day to readings my Poet Laureates and Def Jam Poetry alumni to an outdoor walkable village of book signings/stores, to a performance by rock icon Patti Smith, the Dodge Poetry Festival has something for every age, budget and interest.
WBGO's Doug Doyle spoke with two people who will have major roles in this year's festival:
Newark-native Ysabel Y. González received her BA from Rutgers University, an MFA in Poetry from Drew University, and serves as Producer, Poetry & Social Impact at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and Dodge Poetry.
Acclaimed poet, dancer, librettist and actorMarc Bamuthi Joseph is a TED Global Fellow, an Emerson Collective Dial Fellow, an inaugural recipient of the Guggenheim Social Practice initiative, and an honoree of the United States Artists Rockefeller Fellowship. He is also the winner of the 2011 Herb Alpert Award in Theatre, and an inaugural recipient of the Doris Duke Performing Artist Award. In the Spring of 2022, he was elected into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
At this festival, you can get a chance to meet your favorite poets including Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Elizabeth Acevedo, Tyehimba Jess, , Aja Monet, Danez Smith, Jive Poetic, Mayde del Valle, José Olivarez and more. The festival organizers also say you can discover new voices, speak your mind, call for change and mix rhyme with rhythm.
Events include:
- 7 simultaneous stages of events in a walkable village in downtown Newark
- Network and socialize at Thursday night’s mixer and open mic hosted by EvoluCulture
- Fine-tune your craft on Thursday, a day for writers created in partnership with the Academy of American Poets
- Pop-up bookstore and book signings curated and hosted by Source of Knowledge
- Special readings by Cave Canem, CantoMundo, Lampblack and Kundiman and New Jeru Slam Team
- And Saturday free outdoor Family Fun Day on Chambers Plaza
NOTE: Festival passes DO NOT include special ticketed events which must be purchased separately: Patti Smith, Do the Write Thing and Def Poetry Reunion.
You can SEE Doug Doyle's entire interview with Ysabel Y. González and Marc Bamuthi Joseph below:
