O.B. Hardison Poetry Series

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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.

2020s

2010s

2000s

  • Emily Dickinson Birthday Tribute: Lucie Brock-Broido (2009)
  • On The Creative Path: Arthur Sze and Afaa Michael Weaver (2009)
  • O.B. Hardison, Jr. Poetry Prize: Juliana Spahr (2009)
  • Folger Poetry Board Meeting: Eamon Grennan (2009)
  • Singing the Body: Rita Dove (2009)
  • Meditations: Michael Harper and A.B. Spellman (2009)
  • The Act of Memory: Claudia Emerson and Natasha Trethewey (2009)
  • Beauty in Ordinary Life: Marie Howe and Bob Hicok (2009)
  • Duende: Linda Pastan and Tracy K. Smith (2009)
  • Not Just Another Day Off (2009)
  • Emily Dickinson Birthday Tribute: Elizabeth Spires (2008)
  • Dark Radiance: Frank Bidart and Rae Armantrout (2008)
  • O.B. Hardison, Jr. Poetry Prize: Mary Kinzie (2008)
  • State of the Union: 50 Political Poems: Nick Flynn, Terrance Hayes, Eileen Myles and Edwin Torres (2008)
  • Folger Poetry Board Reading: Lucille Clifton (2008)
  • Under a Spell: Jazz and Blues in Poetry: Quincy Troupe and Tyehimba Jess (2008)
  • The Natural World: Galway Kinnell and Mark Doty (2008)
  • Of Light and Darkness: Gerald Stern and Ross Gay (2008)
  • The Most Mysterious Clarity: Kay Ryan (2008)
  • Not Just Another Day Off (2008)
  • Emily Dickinson Birthday Tribute: Richard Howard (2007)
  • Celebrating John Ashbery (2007)
  • O.B. Hardison, Jr. Poetry Prize: David Wojahn (2007)
  • Folger Poetry Board Reading: Eavan Boland (2007)
  • Celebrating the Sonnet: Phillis Levin, Henri Cole and Molly Peacock (2007)
  • The Art of Poetry: Derek Walcott (2007)
  • On Black Male Poetics: Terrance Hayes and Frank X Walker (2007)
  • Emerging Asian American Poets: Tina Chang, Srikanth Reddy and Victoria Chang (2007)
  • Not Just Another Day Off (2007)
  • Emily Dickinson Birthday Tribute: Carolyn Forché (2006)
  • Poetry and Verse: Tess Gallagher (2006)
  • O.B. Hardison Jr. Poetry Prize: David Rivard (2006)
  • Charles Simic (2006)
  • Ted Kooser (2006)
  • Virgil Suarez, Adrian Castro, & Sonia Sanchez (2006)
  • Eve Grubin, Kazim Ali, Katie Ford, & Jorie Graham (2006)
  • Rosmarie Waldrop (2005)
  • Mark Halliday & Campbell McGrath (2005)
  • Sharon Olds & Elizabeth Alexander (2005)
  • Tony Hoagland (2005)
  • Anne Waldman (2005)
  • Philip Levine (2005)
  • Taha Muhammad Ali & Edward Hirsch (2005)
  • C. K. Williams (2005)
  • Peter Gizzi & Eileen Myles (2005)
  • Harryette Mullen (2004)
  • Jimmy Santiago Baca (2004)
  • Diane Middlebrook (2004)
  • Reginald Gibbons (2004)
  • Thomas Sayers Ellis, Vijay Seshadri, Fanny Howe, & Percival Everett (2004)
  • Stanley Plumly (2004)
  • Brad Gooch (2004)
  • Diane Ackerman (2004)
  • Eamon Grennan & Vona Groarke (2004)
  • David McCann & Ko Un (2004)
  • Katia Kapovich, Rachel Blau Duplessis & Linda Gregson (2004)
  • Jean Valentine (2003)
  • Tribute to Henry Taylor (2003)
  • Cornelius Eady (2003)
  • Pattiann Rodgers (2003)
  • Robert Bly (2003)
  • George Schneeman, Ron Padgett & Steve Clay (2003)
  • Paul Muldoon (2003)
  • Dissenting Practices (2003)
  • Linda Gregerson (2003)
  • Li-Young Lee (2002)
  • Naomi Shihab Nye, Nathalie Handal, & Elmaz Abinader (2002)
  • Ellen Bryant Voigt (2002)
  • A. Van Jordan, Honoree Fanonne Jeffers, Shara McCallum (2002)
  • W.D. Snodgrass (2002)
  • Natasha Trethewey & Dolores Kendrick (2002)
  • Celebration of the Sonnet (2002)
  • Alice Notley (2002)
  • Yeats' Gallery (2002)
  • Kenneth Koch (2002)
  • Susan Howe (2001)
  • Clarence Major & Bruce Smith (2001)
  • David St. John (2001)
  • Galway Kinnell (2001)
  • Billy Collins & Carol Ann Duffy (2001)
  • Les Murray (2001)
  • Lucille Clifton (2001)
  • Marie Howe & Elizabeth Alexander (2001)
  • Joy Harjo (2000)
  • Afaa Michael Weaver & Ahmos Zu-Bolton (2000)
  • Rachel Hadas (2000)
  • Louise Gluck (2000)
  • Sandra Cisneros (2000)
  • Lawrence Ferlinghetti (2000)
  • Arthur Sze & Vijay Seshadri (2000)
  • Toi Derricotte & Thomas Lux (2000)

1990s

  • Elizabeth Spires (1999)
  • Tracie Morris & Yusef Komunyakaa (1999)
  • Alan Shapiro (1999)
  • Lannon Fellows (1999)
  • YMCA National Writer's Voice: Amy Hempel, Steve Stern, Cornelius Eady & Carolyn Forché (1999)
  • Stanley Kunitz (1999)
  • Melanie Rae Thon & Michael Martone (1999)
  • Tom Sleigh & Sandra Gilbert (1999)
  • Donald Justice (1999)
  • Brenda Marie Osbey (1999)
  • C.D. Wright Mark McMorris (1999)
  • Eavan Boland & Jane Mead (1999)
  • Mary Oliver (1998)
  • Maggie Nelson, Jennifer Barber & Mark Bibbins (1998)
  • Lawson Fusao Inada & Jennifer Nelson (1998)
  • Heather McHugh (1998)
  • W.S. Merwin (1998)
  • Michael Palmer (1998)
  • Peter Brook (1998)
  • Gary Snyder (1998)
  • Robert Pinsky (1998)
  • Ann Lauterbach (1998)
  • Stanley Plumly, Lucille Clifton, Robert Creeley & Denise Levertov (1998)
  • Dava Sobel (1998)
  • Richard Wilbur (1998)
  • James Tate & Brenda Hillman (1998)
  • DJ Renegade (1998)
  • Reuben Jackson & Al Young (1998)
  • Mary Karr (1997)
  • Reetika Vazarani &, Zoe Anglesey (1997)
  • Charles Wright & Jay Parini (1997)
  • Frank Bidart (1997)
  • Leslie Scalapino & Mark Rudman (1997)
  • Rafael Campo & Marilyn Hacker (1997)
  • George Plimpton & Christopher Buckley (1997)
  • Nuala Ni Dhomhniall & Eilean Ni Chuilleanan (1997)
  • Gwendolyn Brooks (1997)
  • Kamau Brathwaite (1997)
  • Lannon Fellows (1997)
  • John Ashbery & Anne Carson (1997)
  • Michael Ondaatje (1997)
  • Anthony Hecht (1996)
  • Patricia Smith (1996)
  • Jesus Papoleto Melendez, Pedro Pietri, Jesus Melindez (1996)
  • Jorie Graham (1996)
  • Bei Dao (1996)
  • Derek Walcott (1996)
  • Anne Carson, Christopher Merrill (1996)
  • Henri Cole (1996)
  • Lucie Brock-Broido (1996)
  • Jay Wright (1996)
  • Peter Sacks (1995)
  • Patricia Smith & Paul Beatty (1995)
  • Laurie Anderson (1995)
  • E. Ethelbert Miller (1995)
  • Adrienne Rich (1995)
  • Octavio Paz (1995)
  • Sharon Olds (1995)
  • W. S. Merwin (1995)
  • Paul Muldoon & Rosanna Warren (1995)
  • Robert Creeley & Linda Pastan (1995)
  • Cyrus Cassells (1995)
  • Carolyn Forché (1995)
  • Hayden Carruth (1994)
  • Jorie Graham (1994)
  • Jane Miller & Mark Doty (1994)
  • Spalding Gray (1994)
  • Cornelius Eady (1994)
  • R.H.W. Dillard (1994)
  • Lucille Clifton (1994)
  • Rose Styron & George Plimpton (1994)
  • Robert Hass & Czeslaw Milosz (1994)
  • Olga Broumas (1994)
  • Killarney Clary & Agha Shahid Ali (1994)
  • Sheryl St. Germain (1994)
  • Galway Kinnell (1994)
  • Peter Reading (1994)
  • Rita Dove (1994)
  • Frank Bidart (1993)
  • Kenneth Carroll& Wanda Coleman (1993)
  • John Frederick Nims (1993)
  • Denise Levertov (1993)
  • Adrienne Rich (1993)
  • Octavio Paz (1993)
  • Alice Quinn, Charles Simic, & Louise Gluck (1993)
  • Beth Joselow & E. Ethelbert Miller (1993)
  • William Matthews (1993)
  • Maxine Kumin (1992)
  • Martin Espada, Robert Creeley & Marilyn Waniek (aka Marilyn Nelson) (1992)
  • Cynthia Macdonald (1992)
  • John Updike (1992)
  • Fred Chappell & Richard Tillinghast (1992)
  • Olga Broumas (1992)
  • Carolyn Forché (1992)
  • Jane Kenyon, Jean Nordhaus (1992)
  • Anne Becker, Ai, Mona Van Duyn, & Julie Agoos (1992)
  • Charles Wright (1991)
  • Gibbons Ruark & Eamon Grennan (1991)
  • Les Murray (1991)
  • Brendan Galvin (1991)
  • Miroslav Holub (1991)
  • Belle Waring (1991)
  • Donald Justice (1991)
  • Seamus Heaney (1991)
  • Li-Young Lee & David Ignatow (1991)
  • Ntozake Shange & Jessica Hagedorn (1991)
  • Gregory Orr & Edward Kleinschmidt (1991)
  • Linda Pastan (1991)
  • Jean Valentine (1990)
  • Thomas Lux, Jorie Graham, & Toi Derricotte (1990)
  • Anthony Hecht (1990)
  • Dave Smith & Roland Flint (1990)
  • Sonia Sanchez (1990)
  • Molly Peacock & Minnie Bruce Pratt (1990)
  • Adam Zagajewski (1990)
  • Bernice Reagon & June Jordan (1990)
  • Jane Shore & Carol Muske (1990)
  • Bruce Weigl & John Balaban (1990)

1980s

  • Josephine Jacobsen & Jean Valentine (1989)
  • Saul Bellow (1989)
  • Henry Taylor & Michael Collier (1989)
  • Peter Sacks (1989)
  • Yehuda Amichai (1989)
  • Philip Levine (1989)
  • Thomas McGrath (1989)
  • Reed Whittemore & Roland Flint (1989)
  • Eilean Ni Chuilleanan (1989)
  • Marilyn Hacker (1988)
  • Marge Piercy (1988)
  • Octavio Paz (1988)
  • Yehuda Amichai, Octavio Paz, Derek Walcott, Les Murray, & Peter Sacks (1988)
  • Jeffery Harrison (1988)
  • Irina Ratushinskay (1988)
  • Linda Pastan & Myra Sklarew (1988)
  • John Ashbery (1988)
  • Patricia Willis (1988)
  • June Jordan (1987)
  • Anthony Hecht (1987)
  • Stanley Kunitz (1987)
  • Galway Kinnell (1987)
  • Katha Pollitt & Laura Jensen (1987)
  • Stanley Plumly & C. K. Williams (1987)
  • Cynthia Macdonald (1986)
  • Katherine Zadrave & Frank Dorn (1986)
  • James Merrill (1986)
  • Diane Burns & Gregory Tate (1986)
  • Joseph Brodsky (1986)
  • Michael Harper & Rita Dove (1986)
  • Tomas Transtromer (1986)
  • William Pritchard (1986)
  • Nicholas Christopher, Jeffery Harrison, & Robert Hass (1986)
  • Anthony Hecht (1986)
  • Amy Clampitt (1986)
  • Jorie Graham & Lucille Clifton (1985)
  • W.D. Snodgrass & Donald Hall (1985)
  • Seamus Heaney (1985)
  • Denis Johnson & Elizabeth Spires (1985)
  • Edward Hirsch & Gjertrud Schnackenberg (1985)
  • Mary Oliver (1985)
  • Sharon Olds (1984)
  • Sandra Esteves & Rikki Lights (1984)
  • Robert Pinsky (1984)
  • Alison Lurie & Shelby Hearon (1984)
  • May Swenson (1984)
  • Reed Whittemore (1984)
  • Jordan Smith & Douglas Crase (1984)
  • Charles Simic & Ellen Bryant Voigt (1984)
  • Sonia Sanchez (1984)
  • Jean Valentine (1983)
  • Josephine Jacobsen (1983)
  • Roland Flint (1983)
  • W.S. Merwin (1983)
  • James Dickey (1983)
  • Garth Tate & Kimiko Hahn (1983)
  • Ivan Lalic (1983)
  • Denise Levertov (1983)
  • Jean Valentine (1983)
  • Ursula LeGuin (1983)
  • Samuel Hazo (1982)
  • Frederick Morgan (1982)
  • Myra Sklarew (1982)
  • Veno Taufer (1982)
  • Jerome Rothenberg (1982)
  • Richard Wilbur (1982)
  • Sterling Brown (1982)
  • Tess Gallagher (1982)
  • Steve Orlen & Susan Wood (1982)
  • Carole Oles & Jane Flanders (1981)
  • Pamela Stewart & Carolyn Forché (1981)
  • Fay Chiang & Peter Harris (1981)
  • Howard Nemerov & Eilean Ni Chuilleanan (1981)
  • Charles Simic (1981)
  • Carolyn Kizer (1981)
  • Josephine Miles (1981)
  • Albert Goldbarth (1981)
  • Dick Higgins (1981)
  • Frank Bidart (1981)
  • Louise Gluck (1981)
  • Thomas Lux (1980)
  • Robert Bly (1980)
  • David Antin (1980)
  • Ira Sadoff (1980)
  • Mark Strand (1980)
  • David McAleavey (1980)
  • Charles Wright (1980)
  • Audre Lorde (1980)
  • Olga Broumas (1980)

1970s

  • David St. John (1979)
  • Heather McHugh (1979)
  • W.S. Merwin (1979)
  • Leslie Ullman (1979)
  • John Ashbery (1979)
  • James Wright (1979)
  • James Liddy (1979)
  • William Claire (1979)
  • Gerald Stern (1978)
  • Erica Jong (1978)
  • Theodore Weiss (1978)
  • Marvin Bell (1978)
  • E. Ethelbert Miller, June Jordan (1978)
  • Murial Ruckheyser (1978)
  • John Pauker (1978)
  • Philip Levine (1978)
  • Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1978)
  • Linda Pastan (1978)
  • Linda Sexton (1978)
  • Howard Moss (1978)
  • Alice Walker & Frederick Morgan (1977)
  • Ruth Whitman (1977)
  • Myra Sklarew (1977)
  • Maura Stanton (1977)
  • Daniel Berrigan & S.J. (1977)
  • Charles David Wright (1977)
  • Jean Nordhaus (1977)
  • Allen Ginsberg (1977)
  • Mary Abbott & Barbara Guest (1977)
  • Robert Hayden & Reed Whittemore (1977)
  • James Dickey (1977)
  • Richard Eberhart (1977)
  • Josephine Jacobsen & May Miller (1977)
  • John Engels & Henry Taylor (1977)
  • William Meredith & Maxine Kumin (1976)
  • James Merrill (1976)
  • Marge Piercy (1976)
  • Ralph Robin, Rod Jellema, & Roland Flint (1976)
  • Darcy Gottlieb (1976)
  • X.J. Kennedy (1976)
  • James Wright (1976)
  • Jodi Braxton, Grace Cavalieri, & Ahmos Zu-Bolton (1976)
  • Clarence Major & Doris Grumbach (1976)
  • John Gardner (1975)
  • Josephine Jacobsen (1975)
  • Marilyn Hacker (1975)
  • Reed Whittemore (1975)
  • Katie Loucheim (1975)
  • Arthur Gregor & Charles David Wright (1975)
  • Wayne Alexander & Michael Lally (1975)
  • David Slavitt (1975)
  • Mona Van Duyn (1975)
  • R.H.W. Dillard (1975)
  • O.B. Hardison (1974)
  • Ann Stanford (1974)
  • James Dickey (1974)
  • Shirley Kaufman (1974)
  • Muriel Ruckheyser (1974)
  • Michael Harper (1973)
  • Peter Klappert (1973)
  • John Hawkes (1973)
  • Marin Sorescu (1972)
  • Samuel Hazo & Myra Sklarew (1972)
  • Keith Wilson (1972)
  • Holly Stevens (1972)
  • Frank Scott & Margaret Atwood (1972)
  • Richard Murphy (1971)
  • St. John Primus (1971)
  • William Stafford (1971)
  • George Garrett (1970)
  • Roger Hecht & John Pauker (1970)
  • Lucille Clifton (1970)

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.

Not Just Another Day Off

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