Thursday, March 31
The Tattooed Desert: A Tribute to and Reading from Richard Shelton, Hosted by the University of Arizona Poetry Center.
Academy Chancellor Mark Doty and Academy Chancellor Emeritus Naomi Shihab Nye,with Alison Deming, Ken Lamberton, and Richard Shelton
Room 502 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level
10:30 a.m.–11:45 a.m.
Turning into Dwelling: A Tribute to Christopher Gilbert.
Academy Chancellor Elizabeth Alexander with Ed Pavlic, Terrance Hayes, and Kevin Young
AWP Bookfair Stage, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One
1:30 p.m.–2:45 p.m.
Rhyme Gone Radical, or Beyond the Hallmark Card.
Academy Chancellor Marilyn Nelson with David J. Daniels, Mary Austin Speaker, Quraysh Ali Lansana, and Richie Hofmann
Room 408 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level
3:00 p.m.–4:15 p.m.
Beyond Sex, Drugs, and Rock ‘n’ Roll: Far Out Poets Read Poems About the ‘60s.
Academy Chancellor Alicia Ostriker with Patricia Smith, Wendy Barker, Dave Parsons, and Tim Seibles
Room 515 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level
3:00 p.m.–4:15 pm.
Tendrils and Roots: Place-ing the Personal in the Contemporary Eco-elegy.
Academy Chancellor Brenda Hillman with Sandra Meek, Sherwin Bitsui, Laura-Gray Street, and Marcella Durand
Room 408 B, L.A. Convention Center, Meeting Room Level
4:30 p.m.–5:45 p.m.
#AWP16 Keynote Address by Claudia Rankine, Sponsored by USC Dornsife English & PhD in Creative Writing and Literature, and Graywolf Press.
Concourse Hall, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One
8:30 p.m.–10:00 p.m.
Friday, April 1
A Lecture by Elizabeth Alexander, Sponsored by the Poetry Foundation.
Room 411, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level
12:00 p.m.–1:15 p.m.
Book Signing with Linda Gregerson and Marilyn Nelson.
Booth #809
1:30 p.m.–2:30 p.m.
A Reading & Conversation with Rigoberto González, Marilyn Nelson, & D.A. Powell, Sponsored by the Poetry Society of America.
Academy Chancellor Marilyn Nelson with Alice Quinn, Rigoberto Gonzalez, and D.A. Powell
Petree Hall, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One
3:00 p.m.–4:15 p.m.
From MFA to JOB: Making a Living, Making a Difference.
Academy of American Poets Excutive Director Jennifer Benka with Kenny Kruse, Monica Prince, and Kenyatta Rogers
Room 501, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level
1:30 p.m.–2:45 p.m.
A Tribute to and Celebration of Eloise Klein Healy.
Academy Chancellor Alicia Ostriker with Robin Becker, Eloise Klein Healy, Peggy Shumaker, and Amy Uyematsu
Room 411, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level
4:30 p.m.–5:45 p.m.
To Bring Song to the World: Three Poets on Art and Inspiration, Sponsored by Blue Flower Arts.
Academy Chancellors Linda Gregerson and Juan Felipe Herrera with Alison Granucci and W.S. Di Piero
Concourse Hall, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One
8:30 p.m.–10:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 2
What’s the Big Idea? Intention vs. Intuition in the Writing Process
Academy Chancellor Mark Doty with Linda Bierds, Kevin Young, and Victoria Chang
Room 502 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level
10:30 a.m.–11:45 a.m.
Poetics of Drought: Language, Remediation, and Landscape.
Academy Chancellor Brenda Hillman with Kristin George Bagdanov, Matthew Cooperman, Angela Hume Lewandowski, and Rusty Morrison
Room 403 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level
12:00 p.m.–1:15 p.m.
Read This Poem: Promoting Poets and Community.
Academy of American Poets Director of Content and Associate Director Mary Gannon with Kristen Evans, Anna Gross, and David Welch
Room 511, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level
12:00 p.m.–1:15 p.m.
(Still) Got the Juice: Fierce Writing by Women Poets of a Certain Age.
Academy Chancellor Toi Derricotte with Wendy Barker, Linda Hogan, Natalia Trevino, and Rebecca Foust
Room 515 A, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level
3:00 p.m.–4:15 p.m.
Messenger to the Stars: Luis Omar Salinas (1937–2008), Pioneer Chicano Poet.
Academy Chancellor Juan Felipe Herrera with Christopher Buckley, Diana Garcia, Juan Delgado, and Donald Wolff
Room 403 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level
4:30 p.m.–5:45 p.m.
The Darkening Trapeze: Last Poems of Larry Levis.
Academy Chancellor Linda Gregerson with David St. John, Carolyn Forché, Terrance Hayes, and Tony Hoagland
Room 502 B, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level
4:30 p.m.–5:45 p.m.
Incite them to Poetry—a Memorial Reading for C.D. Wright
This event honors and celebrates the poetry and legacy of the late C.D. Wright, beloved prize-winning poet and writing professor at Brown University. Readers include: Laynie Browne, Lee Ann Brown, Steven Burt, Claire Donato, Lisa Olstein, Elizabeth Robinson, Prageeta Sharma, Craig Teicher, Sam Truitt, Chet Weise, Michael Wiegers, Joshua Marie Wilkinson, and more.
Ace Hotel, Segovia Hall, Downtown Los Angeles
7:00 p.m.
A Reading by Natasha Trethewey and Edward Hirsch, Presented by the Academy of American Poets
Join us for a reading by the award-winning and bestselling poets Natasha Trethewey and Edward Hirsch. Natasha Trethewey, Pulitzer Prize for Poetry winner, was appointed as the 19th Poet Laureate of the United States in 2012. Former Academy Chancellor Edward Hirsch is the author of nine books of poetry and has received the National Book Critics Award and a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship.
AWP Conference, Petree Hall, LA Convention Center, Exhibit Hall Level One
8:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m.