2021-2031

The 5h Annual Poetry Downtown Festival honors John Trudell from September 23 - 28, 2025!

2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 | 2031

2021 – ‘Get Ready To Die’

From Kenneth Patchen (December 13, 1911 – January 8, 1972) poem Get Ready To Die
Only events at Venice Beach, LA.

2022 – ‘Some People Never Go Crazy’

From Charles Bukowski (August 16, 1920, Andernach, Germany – March 9, 1994, San Pedro, CA) poem Some People
Poetry Train New York to Los Angeles with events at Venice Beach and 5 different venues in LA.

2023 – ‘I Never Could Talk To You’

From Sylvia Plath (October 27, 1932, Boston, MA – February 11, 1963, Londen, UK) poem Daddy
Poetry Train Boston to Los Angeles with 12 events in Boston, Los Angeles and at the Poetry Train itself.

2024 – ‘The Raven’

From Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 Boston, MA – Oktober 7, 1859 Baltimore, MD) poem The Raven
Poetry Train Boston to Baltimore with 20 events in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and at the Poetry Train itself.

2025 – ‘Look At US’

From John Trudell (February 15, 1946 Omaha, NE – December 8, 2015 Santa Clara County, CA) poem Look At Us
Poetry Train Omaha to Santa Clara County with .. events in Omaha, Denver, San Francisco, San Jose (Santa Clara County) and at the Poetry Train itself.

2026 – ‘America I’ve given you all and now I’m nothing’

From Allen Ginsberg (June 3, 1926 Newark, NJ – April 5, 1997, New York, NY) poem America
Poetry Train Newark to New York with .. events in Newark and New York.

2027 – ‘In a dark time’

From Theodore Roethke (May 25, 1908 Saginaw, Michigan – August 1, 1963 Bainbridge Island, Washington)
Poetry Train Flint to Seattle.

2028 – ‘But still, like dust, I’ll rise’

From Maya Angelou (April 4, 1928, Saint Louis, MO – May 28, 2014, Winston-Salem, NC) poem Still I Rise

2029 – ‘Those Lines Are On The Mirror’

From Ed Dorn (April 2, 1929, Villa Grove, IL – December 10, 1999, Denver, CO) poem Gunslinger, Book IV

2030 – ‘Young blond children in white blouses’

From Gregory Corso (March 26,1930, New York, NY – January 17, 2001, Robbinsdale, MI) poem Vision OF Rotterdam.

2031 – ‘That casual figure on the station bench’

From Audrey Wurdemann (January 1, 1911, Seattle, WA – May 20, 1960, Miami, FL) poem The Secret Heart