O.B. Hardison Poetry Series

For more than 40 years, the Folger's poetry reading series has brought hundreds of distinguished poets to read from their work on the Folger stage, including Octavio Paz, Gwendolyn Brooks, Allen Ginsberg, W. S. Merwin, Adrienne Rich, Yusef Komunyakaa, James Merrill, Frank Bidart, Robert Pinsky, Derek Walcott, Hayden Carruth, Rita Dove, Seamus Heaney, Sterling Brown, Denise Levertov, June Jordan, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Sonia Sanchez, and James Dickey. Beginning with the 2010–11 season, it was renamed O.B. Hardison, Jr. Poetry reading series in honor of its founder, O. B. Hardison, Jr.

From traditional poetry readings to multimedia presentations to eclectic combinations of lecture, conversation, and performance, O.B. Hardison Poetry reading series is committed to expanding the contexts in which poetry is experienced. Each year, we present eight to ten poetry events— including a moderated conversation and Q & A—in the Folger’s Elizabethan Theatre, followed by wine receptions and book signings in the Great Hall.

Current season

To view the current season of the O.B. Hardison Poetry Series and purchase tickets to any of the events, please see the Folger's main website.

Upcoming season

Previous seasons

Previous poetry readings at the Folger

Previous poetry readings at the Folger offers a comprehensive list of poets who have read at the Folger, including additional biographies, audio recordings and further information when available.

2010s

  • A Bicentennial Celebration of Walt Whitman (2019)
  • Folger Poetry Board Reading: Kay Ryan (2019)
  • Verse from Southern Foodways Alliance: Sandra Beasley, Sean Hill, and W. Ralph Eubanks (2019)
  • Afrofuturism: Tananarive Due, N. K. Jemison, and Airea D. Matthews (2019)
  • Not Just Another Day Off (2019)
  • Emily Dickinson Birthday Tribute: Jen Bervin and Martha Nell Smith (2018)
  • Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize: Sir Andrew Motion and Christopher Cessac
  • Eudora Welty Lecture: Richard Ford (2018)
  • Ghost Fishing: Eco-justice Poetry: Melissa Tuckey and Brenda Cardenas (2018)
  • Hardison Season Opening: Linda Pastan, Marilyn Chin, and Ellen Bass (2018)
  • Silence and Breath: Kazim Ali and Kaveh Akbar (2018)
  • Folger Poetry Board Reading: Poetry of WitnessL Carolyn Forche (2018)
  • 10 Artists After Paul Klee at the Phillips Collection: Sherwin Bitsui and Paisley Rekdal (2018)
  • Natural Mystic: A Poetic Celebration of Reggae: Kwame Dawes and Safiya Sinclair (2018)
  • Emily Dickinson Birthday Tribute: Sandra Gilbert (2017)
  • Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize: Gjertrud Schnakenberg and Mike White (2017)
  • Words Wanting to be Said: John Burnside and Phillis Levin (2017)
  • Folger Poetry Board Reading: Jane Hirshfield (2017)
  • We Wear The Masks-Poetry and Fiction inspired by Comic Books: Manuel Gonzales, Yona Harvey, and Gary Jackson (2017)
  • Pablo Neruda Tribute: Forrest Gander and Javier Zamora (2017)
  • Emily Dickinson Birthday Tribute: Tracy K. Smith and Dr. David DeVorkin (2016)
  • Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize: Eavan Boland and Austin Allen (2016)
  • Sharon Olds (2016)
  • Lineage: From the Black Arts Movement to Cave Canem: Nikki Giovanni, Haki Madhubuti, Toi Derricotte, Kyle Dargan, Gregory Pardlo, & Rachel Eliza Griffiths (2016)
  • Folger Poetry Board Reading: Sir Andrew Motion (2016)
  • The New Sonneteers: Malachi Black, Laurie Ann Guerrero, and A. Van Jordan (2016)
  • The Human Voice in Struggle: Reginald Dwyane Betts and William Archila (2016)
  • Emily Dickinson Birthday Tribute: Linda Gregerson (2015)
  • Chapter and Verse: Julianna Baggott and Laura Kasischke (2015)
  • Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize: Anthony Thwaite and Jaimee Hills (2015)
  • Before and After: Poets Respond to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead- Smith and O'Neil (2015)




Special poetry events at the Folger

O.B. Hardison Poetry Series partners with national and community organizations promoting poetry and language throughout the Washington region, and the country. Join us at the Haskell Center or other locations for special readings and celebrations.

District of Literature

Emily Dickinson Birthday Tribute

Poetry-in-Schools

Shakespeare's Sisters: Five Centuries of Poetry by Women

Lannan Fellows Program

Shakespeare's Birthday Sonnet Contest

Before & After: Poets Responding to Shakespeare

Folger Poetry Board

The Folger Poetry Board is a committee of friends providing significant support to the Folger Shakespeare Library's poetry programs by organizing and sponsoring fundraising and other literary events and by hosting an annual reading by a distinguished author.

  • Gigi Bradford, Chair
  • Anne Harding Woodworth, Co-Chair
  • Edwin P. Conquest, Jr.
  • Christina Daub
  • Harriet Patsy Davis
  • Barbara Goldberg
  • Patricia Gray
  • Marifrancis Hardison
  • Joseph Hassett
  • Anita Herrick
  • Sherman E. Katz
  • Hiram Larew
  • Robert C. Liotta
  • Richard Lyon
  • Mary P. McElveen
  • Barbara Meade
  • Mary Muromcew
  • Jean Nordhaus
  • Jacqueline Quillen
  • Susan S. Rappaport
  • Heddy Reid
  • Edith Schafer
  • Dr. Marianne Schuelein
  • Amy Tercek
  • David Weisman
  • Mary-Sherman Willis