Woodland Pattern's 29th Annual Poetry Marathon & Benefit

Sat. & Sun., JANUARY 28th & 29th, 2023 | 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. CT

Woodland Pattern’s most highly anticipated annual event, the Poetry Marathon is a two-day, 24-hour lyrical extravaganza with performances from more than 300 individual poets, musicians, and moving image artists.

In addition to being an extraordinary event and a beloved tradition for poets of all ages, the Poetry Marathon serves as a community-driven fundraiser. Participating poets are asked to raise a small amount of funds among family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc., and/or via social media, with a goal of $50 in pledges on each reader’s behalf. Those contributions are then matched by a sponsor for the hour and supplemented by major sponsorships. Thanks to our community, funds raised through the Marathon each January have kept Woodland Pattern going strong for decades, providing fuel for all our programmatic activities in the year ahead.

All 24 hours of the Poetry Marathon will be livestreamed via Crowdcast. As usual, each hour will feature 10 or more poets reading for up to 5 minutes each, plus remarks and conversation among curators, our staff, and audience members. For a taste of what's in store, check out our Marathon trailer video. For information about poet registration or to learn about sponsorship opportunities, keep scrolling!

Thank you in advance for honoring the many individual creative practices that compose and enrich our vast community. As always it's the grand mix of voices—of beginning, emerging, and established writers; of people of various ages, cultural backgrounds, and life experiences—that makes Woodland Pattern's Poetry Marathon an authentic celebration of our shared humanity and the possibilities of language.