A “thank you” and “welcomes” for the Poetry by the Sea Board of Directors and Advisory Committee. With profound thanks for her unstinting commitment to Poetry by the Sea, the Board announces that Nicole Caruso Garcia has stepped down as Vice President of the Board of Directors. Nicole has been with the Conference nearly from … Read More
Ten years since the first Poetry by the Sea Conference, founded by Kim Bridgford! We celebrated at the 2025 Conference with a champagne toast, an anniversary cake, and a display of memorabilia, among other happenings. Now, to keep the Conference vibrant into the future, we’re launching our 10X Challenge. If you look forward to the Conference … Read More
This year’s Conference is lucky to have as one of our Spotlight readers Oliver de la Paz, the 2023-2025 Poet Laureate of Worcester, Mass. You can read his bio here. In one of his recent books, The Boy in the Labyrinth, de la Paz engages deeply with the experience of raising his neurodivergent sons. Asked in a … Read More
Perhaps no major poet other than Thomas Hardy rivals W. H. Auden in the variety of verse forms, meters, stanzas, and rhyme schemes the poet makes use of. If you’re interested in a deep study of Auden with like-minded poets, this year’s Master Poets Critical Seminar: The Forms of Auden might be for you. Seminar attendees gather over … Read More
Hard to believe that it’s been ten years since Kim Bridgford successfully organized and ran the first Poetry by the Sea Conference, in Madison, Conn. Much has changed—new faces, new poetry—but the essentials are the same, including Kim’s vision of a conference that fostered “interconnectedness, enrichment, acceptance, and inspiration.” To mark the year, we’ve co-sponsored (with Wild … Read More
Slowing Time by Erica Reid My husband is a podcast guy. He says that scientists believe now climate change is starting to affect the length of days:for the first time in a geologic age Earth’s molten core is slackening its spin,our day-long cycles longer by a breath. It’s slowing time, he says — then, earbuds in, returns to stories of our … Read More
Night by Rick Mullin Every angel is terrifying ~Rainer Maria Rilke When I opened for Los Dildos at the Y,I knew I’d get my ass kicked. They had hornsand huge cojones. And a different guyon drums. Their singer wore a crown of thorns(a little heavy on the metaphor)and introduced himself as Caliban.“This isn’t going to … Read More
It is with great excitement that we announce the winning poems in the 2025 Kim Bridgford Memorial Sonnet Contest: Individual Sonnet winner “Slowing Time” by Erica Reid, and Sonnet Crown winner “Night” by Rick Mullin. They each will be awarded a prize of $500 and are invited to read the pieces in May at Poetry … Read More
For the 2025 Conference (May 27-30), we are pleased to announce that Poetry by the Sea is sponsoring a special Jane Caruso Memorial Scholarship. Thanks to a donor’s generosity, we are able to offer a full scholarship to a poet-educator who would like to deepen their commitment to poetic craft. The scholarship recipient is entitled to full conference registration, including … Read More
The Knife, The Throat by Dawn Manning I’ve had a knife at my throat and didn’t die, though when I swallow it tastes like pennies.This scar’s my pearl choker—chic as a fly. My head’s bound on tight—just give it a pry;and put down the green ribbon, dear Jenny.I’ve had a knife at my throat and didn’t … Read More
