Press Release
This year, Poetry Downtown proudly honors the legacy of Edgar Allan Poe with a four-city celebration. The festivities will take place in Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore. In Baltimore, four events will be organized, with the most important the fourth and final Poetry Downtown Baltimore Reading at Protean Books & Records on September 29.
Poetry Downtown Baltimore Readings
Each year, Poetry Downtown invites the finest poets to participate in its festival. This year, the festival’s jury will select 13 emerging poets to read in each city. The 52 selected poets will also be published in the annual Poetry Downtown anthology. To be considered for selection, poets must submit a poem inspired by “The Raven” by September 1, as the festival celebrates the 175th anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe’s death on October 7, 1849.
Protean Books & Records
In each city, we read at a different locations. In Boston, we will read at the Long Wharf Pavilion, in New York we read in front of the Edgar Allan Poe Cottage, in Philadelphia the poets will read at the Philadelphia Ethical Society at Rittenhouse Square and in Baltimore we read in the back room of one of the largest independent book & record stores in Maryland. The shop in an industrial building near Federal Hill is open for more then a decade now and they sell graphic novels, manga, vintage video games and collectibles of all sorts.
Jury
Each year, Poetry Downtown has different jury members as we seek for jury members from the cities we visit or jury members who knows everything about the poet we honor. This year’s panel includes:
– Erik van Loon: Dutch artist and founder of the Poetry Downtown Festival
– Chris Semtner: Curator of the Edgar Allan Poe Museum, author and artist
– G.H. Mosson: Poet with with multiple nominations and prestigious journal publications
All events on September 29 in Baltimore
2.00-2.15 pm Opening Poetry Downtown Baltimore
Erik van Loon will official open the festivities in Baltimore, he will welcome the poets and its audience, he will present the Poetry Train Zin and introduce Amy Branam Armiento.
2.15-3.00 pm Edgar Allan Poe – A Mad Genius
Amy Branam Armiento, professor of English at Frostburg State University, and she is immediate past president of the Poe Studies Association, will give a lecture about Edgar Allan Poe’s reputation and why it has persisted. In addition, this lecture will factor in personal struggles and tragedies that led to the perception that Poe was erratic—mad—at times.
3.30-6.00 pm Poetry Cycle Baltimore
A literary cycle of 5 miles in which we follow Edgar Allan Poe from the Edgar Allan Poe House / Museum till Frederick Douglass Head at Fell’s Point from where Edgar Allan Poe often took a schip to Philadelphia, Richmond and/or one of the other cities he frequently visited.
8.00-10.00 pm Poetry Downtown Reading Baltimore
See above
10.00-11.00 pm PATCH Baltimore
At PATCH (Poetry And Tales Cocktail Hour) poets and audience can meet, talk, drink and dance with eachother. At PATCH we will have each night also the Ultimate Typewriter Showdown: where speed, accuracy and skill determin the ultimate typewriter champion.
* all events are free
Boston – New York – Philadelphia – Baltimore
As mentioned before, the 4th Poetry Downtown Festival will take place in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. This year’s festival promises a rich array of events and culinary delights, including 12 distinct dishes, four poetry readings, four lectures, three poetry cycles, three Ultimate Typewriter Countdowns, one talk show, and one radio play. Poets will journey on the Poetry Train, traveling between cities and towns across eight states from Boston to Baltimore. This unique and affordable experience offers poets the chance to network and collaborate, connecting poets in twenty different cities and towns.
Poetry Train
Erik van Loon envisions leasing a dedicated Poetry Train by 2025, equipped with restaurant, sleeper, disco, bar, and library cars. This year, he aims to welcome 40 poets aboard the Poetry Train, further expanding this unique festival. Support Erik’s American dream and help unite the country through the power of poetry. Visit https://poetrydowntown.com/crowdfunding for more information on how to become a sponsor.
More info:
4th Poetry Downtown Festival
Erik van Loon
+316 E VAN LOON / +316 3 826 5666
www.poetrydowntown.com
Poetrydowntownfestival@gmail.com
