Itinerary may be subject to change depending on unforeseen circumstances.
This was the 2024 Itinerary. Please stay tuned for updates about the 2026 itinerary.
7:30 AM Departure from Trumbull High School with teacher chaperone (transportation provided by THS) to Mercy by the Sea, Madison.
8:30 - 8:50 Arrive and register. You each will receive a packet that contains program materials and a conference center map. (If you signed up for a 15-min. poetry consultation with Anna M. Evans, take note of the time slot between 1:00 and 3:00, and the meeting place, for your consultation.)
9:00 - 10:15 Participant Reading, featuring sonnet crown winner Barbara Lydecker Crane (& including THS students, if you reserved an open-mic slot when you applied).
10:15 -10:45 Book Browsing and Free Time: Now might be a good time to stroll the grounds and shoreline, sit outside with some people and read/write/recite poems, or browse the many poetry books for sale. Follow the signs to the bookroom ( Solarium).
10:45 - 12:00
Panel: In Conversation with Pulitzer Prize winner & Keynote speaker Gregory Pardlo, interviewed by Allison Joseph
12:00 -1:00 LUNCH. Have lunch with fellow members of the poetry community.
Lunch will be provided, including vegetarian and gluten-free options.
Scholarship recipients will be formally recognized at this lunch.
At the end of lunch, we take an all-Conference group photo out on the lawn behind the dining hall. Be a part of the tradition!
1:00 - 1:30
Book Browsing and Free Time: Now might be a good time to stroll the grounds and shoreline, sit outside with some people and read/write/recite poems, or browse the many poetry books for sale. Follow the signs to the bookroom (Solarium).
1:30 - 3:00
WORKSHOP with award-winning poet Allison Joseph (You all have a place reserved in this workshop.)
15-minute Individual Consultations with Anna M. Evans, if you pre-booked one (Slots are 1:15 to 3:00.)
3:15 - 4:30 (Your choice of either the Spotlight Reading or Collaboration Panel)
Spotlight Reading: Teri-Ellen Cross Davis and January Gill O'Neil
Panel: Collaboration: Angela Alaimo O’Donnell (Chair), painter Holly Trostle Brigham, Marilyn Nelson, Wendy Sloan
4:45 - 6:00
Poetry by the Sea Lecture: Rhythm and Affect: The Sounds of Feeling in Poetry, with poet, actor, and biographer David Yezzi
6:05 PM Departure back to Trumbull High School with teacher chaperone Mrs. Shupp (Transportation provided by THS.)