Mark your calendar! The 2026 Plunkett Poetry Festival is scheduled for Saturday, April 25, at the UMA Augusta campus. This year’s festival includes a lineup of engaging workshops, inspiring speakers, and vibrant programming designed to celebrate the art of poetry.

We are honored to welcome Claudia Rankine as our keynote speaker. Rankine is a New York Times bestseller, a MacArthur “Genius” Award Recipient, and an NBCCA winner for criticism. Her work is known for its innovation and candor, pushing the boundaries of form and exploring critical social themes of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Festival Highlights

Poetry Workshops: Participate in interactive sessions led by distinguished poets, Joseph Jackson, Samaa Abdurraqib, and Jeffrey Thomson. These workshops offer a unique opportunity to refine your craft and engage with fellow poetry enthusiasts.

Two Poets, One Poem: Listen to poets Danez Smith and Ian-Khara Ellasante in dialogue on poetry and craft, and join the conversation during the Q and A. Danez Smith has authored four poetry collections and is a recipient of the Lambda Literary Award and the Kate Tufts Discovery Award, as well as a finalist for the National Book Award. Ian-Khara Ellasante is a cultural studies theorist, author of the poetry series Diana, and a faculty member at Bates College.

Open Mic: Enjoy readings from both emerging and established poets, share your own poems, and foster a deeper appreciation for the diverse voices in our poetry community.

Student Poetry Contest: Hear Maine high school and undergraduate contest winners read their work ahead of the keynote address.

For detailed information on the festival schedule, workshop registration, and open-mic sign up, please visit our official festival page:

Plunkett Poetry Festival

We hope you’ll join us for this community gathering as we celebrate poetic expression, the power of words, and the voices that bring them to life!

Our pre-registration topped 110 people, from all over the state, from Eliot to Orono. For our inaugural book fair, four Maine presses came and chatted with guests. We had two workshops filled to capacity with 18 writers in each. More participants came for the afternoon panel on Maine presses and publishing, and even more filed in for the open mic and the late afternoon program.

As always, our student writing contest discovered new talent across Maine. The winning poems were selected from a pool of over 120 submissions. Poets from 21 schools entered the high school contest. Poets from four of the seven University of Maine System campuses entered the undergraduate contest. UMA, UMaine, UMF, and USM each had similar levels of participation.

Our keynote poet, Brian Turner, was a generous and gracious reader, and if his book singing is any indication, the audience was thrilled with this reading.

Visit our website to see the recorded Keynote Event and stay tuned for Festival details in the New Year.

The Plunkett Maine Poetry Festival, an annual celebration of emerging and established poets and poetry, will be held on Saturday, April 27th at the UMA Augusta Campus in Jewett Hall at 46 University Drive, and Online.

This year’s keynote speaker is Brian Turner, poet, musician, professor, and US Army veteran who served in Bosnia-Herzegovina with the 10th Mountain Division, and later as an infantry team leader for a year in Iraq with the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. Best known for his poems about serving in the Iraq war, Turner has authored five collections of poetry including the critically acclaimed Here, Bullet and his newest The Wild Delight of Wild Things. His poems and essays have been published in National Geographic, the New York Times, and The Guardian, just to name a few. Roxana Robinson of The Washington Post proclaims, “Turner is…a poet, and he cannot help but see the world, even the world of combat, in terms of beauty, fragility and heartbreaking splendor…. [His] eloquent rendering illuminates both the shared space and the painful divide between poet and soldier, mission and memory, war and peace.”

Festival Activities

Two free workshops will be offered concurrently from 1:00-2:30 pm in Jewett Hall. Attendees may choose “Phantom Noise: Entering the Sound Archive” with Julia Bouwsma or “Poetry of Transmutation” with Claire Millikin. Each session is limited to 16 participants. Both workshops are free of charge but do require pre-registration. Visit uma.edu/plunkett for more details about each or to register.

A panel discussion on Publishing will be held from 2:45-3:45 pm in the Farber Forum, in Jewett Hall, and live streamed. All the panelists are from small, independent, Maine-based presses and publications. Panelists include: Steve Luttrell of Café Review: International Journal of Art and Poetry, Maya Stein of Kerning Journal and Toad Hall Edition, and Agnes Bushell of Littoral Books. Full details about the presenters can be found at uma.edu/plunkett.

Preceding the Keynote Event, enjoy or join in the Readings and Open Mic, a festival favorite, from 4:00-4:30 pm in Jewett Hall’s Danforth Gallery. Light refreshments will be provided. Then, across the hall in the Farber Forum and via live stream, from 4:30-6:00 pm is the Keynote Event. There will be music performed by UMA jazz students, a welcome from President Cushman, and John McLaughlin will introduce this year’s student poetry contest winners. Poet Brian Turner will then take the stage and present the keynote address, after which will be a time for questions and answers.

The day’s events conclude with a reception in the Danforth Gallery from 6:00-7:00 pm. Hors D’oeuvres will be served.

The festival is free and open to all. Reservations are encouraged for the keynote address and required for the workshops to ensure adequate seating is available. All events are held in Â鶹APP Jewett Hall at 46 University Drive in Augusta and many will also be available online. For updates, more details, and to register, please visit uma.edu/plunkett.

April 28, 2023 at 7:30 P.M.

Bennett D. Katz Library, UMA Augusta Campus

TheĚýPlunkettĚýMaine Poetry Festival continues its tradition of celebrating emerging and established poets at its annual event, this year held on April 28^thĚýat the Â鶹APP (UMA),Ěýat theĚýBennett D. Katz Library, 46 University Dr., Augusta, Maine.ĚýThis event isĚýfree and open to the public,Ěýhowever,Ěýseating is limited. ToĚýregister and see the program, please visit our web page.

Molly McCully Brown is the author of the essay collectionĚýPlaces I’ve Taken my Body— which was published in the United States in June 2020 by Persea Books, and released in the United Kingdom in March of 2021 by Faber & Faber— and the poetry collectionĚýThe Virginia State Colony For Epileptics and FeeblemindedĚý(Persea Books, 2017), which won the 2016 Lexi Rudnitsky First Book Prize and was named a New York Times Critics’ Top Book of 2017. With Susannah Nevison, she is also the coauthor of the poetry collectionĚýIn The Field Between UsĚý(Persea Books, 2020).

Ms. Brown was raised in rural Virginia, and is a graduate of Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Stanford University, and the University of Mississippi, where she received her MFA. She teaches at Old Dominion University, where she is an Assistant Professor of English and Creative Nonfiction, and a member of the MFA Core Faculty.

Each year, The Plunkett Maine Poetry Festival includes a panel discussion related to Â鶹APP colloquium theme, which for academic year 2022/2023 is disability visibility.  The panel poets are Betsy Sholl, Alisha Goldblatt, and Jason Whitney.  The poets will read from their own work, as well as discuss how their poems and life experiences intersect with the theme.

Organizers of the Festival are thrilled to return to its tradition of sharing a meal together between the afternoon panel discussion and the evening program. This time allows poets and others to reconnect and rekindle connections and flare creative sparks.ĚýThe dinner is free to all who register.

The Festival also recognizes those selected to receive awards in the annual Student Poetry Contest, which invites all University of Maine System undergraduate students and Maine high school students to submit poems for recognition. Recognized students will read their work in the evening, following a community dinner for all attendees.

The day will begin with a master class with Ms. Brown. For a full schedule and to register for any part of the program, please visitĚýuma.edu/plunkett. For those who do not wish to attend in person, the eventĚýwill also be live-streamed on Zoom.

About the Plunkett Poetry Festival

The Plunkett Maine Poetry Festival, held in April each year, was established in 2002 to honor the memory and accomplishments of Terry Plunkett, an English professor at the Â鶹APP for nearly thirty years. An outstanding teacher and mentor to many students, Terry was also co-editor of Kennebec: A Portfolio of Maine Writing, an annual magazine published by the university from 1977-1992 and distributed free throughout the state. Many Maine writers first saw their work in print in Kennebec, thanks to Terry’s encouragement and guidance.

A poet and fiction writer as well as a teacher and editor, Terry helped organize and direct the Maine Poets Festival, a hugely popular celebration of poets and poetry, which ran from 1976-1983 at UMA, the College of the Atlantic, and the Maine College of Art.

His son, DuffĚýPlunkett, also a poet, was a champion of the arts in general and theĚýPlunkettĚýFestival in particular. He sat on the organizing committee for 17 years, where he brought his signature wit, creativity, and ingenuity to the festival program. In Portland, Duff was a mainstay at readings and a supporter of both developing and celebrated poets. He worked as an international economist, traveling extensively around the globe, especially in Africa. Fluent in at least eight different languages, Duff’s cultural breadth was extensive.

Photo of Reginald Dwayne Betts by Rachel Eliza Griffiths

The 20th Annual Plunkett Maine Poetry Festival at UMA will feature Reginald Dwayne Betts, “2021 MacArthur Fellow, award winning author, poet, lawyer, and outspoken advocate for criminal justice reform” as its keynote poet for an in-person event* at the Kennebec Savings Bank Fireside Lounge on April 29, 2022 at 7:00 pm (doors open at 6:30 pm).

This event is free and open to the public, however,. For those who do not wish to attend in person, the eventĚýwill also be .

The participation of Betts, as well as other festival programming, will connect the Plunkett Poetry Festival to Â鶹APP academic theme: Race and Social Justice.ĚýBetts’ most recent work is largely concerned with effects of incarceration, including homelessness, drug abuse, domestic violence, as well as fatherhood and the possibilities of grace and love. As a man who experienced the criminal justice system as a teenager and transformed his life upon his release, Betts does more than write exemplary verse, he has lived a life that speaks to redemption, attending law school and working in public defense and advocacy.

This Plunkett Poetry Festival event will also recognize those selected to receive awards in the annual Student Poetry Contest, which invites University of Maine System undergraduate students and Maine high school students to submit poems for recognition.

*In accordance with University of Maine System COVID-19 protocols in place at this time, face coverings are required for anyone attending events in UMS facilities.

Panel Discussion – April 22, 2022

A Panel Discussion on Literature and Social Justice will be held on Friday, April 22, from 4:00 – 5:30 pm. Panelists will include Julie Bouwsma; Samaa Abdurraqib, Poet and Maine Humanities Council Educator; Jaed Coffin, memoirist and essayist; and Joseph Jackson, poet and director of Maine Prisoners Advocacy Coalition. This event will be held via Zoom. Those interested in attending should

About the

The Plunkett Maine Poetry Festival, held in April each year, was established in 2002 to honor the memory and accomplishments of Terry Plunkett, an English professor at the Â鶹APP for nearly thirty years. An outstanding teacher and mentor to many students, Terry was also co-editor of Kennebec: A Portfolio of Maine Writing, an annual magazine published by the university from 1977-1992 and distributed free throughout the state. Many Maine writers first saw their work in print in Kennebec, thanks to Terry’s encouragement and guidance.

A poet and fiction writer as well as a teacher and editor, Terry helped organize and direct the Maine Poets Festival, a hugely popular celebration of poets and poetry, which ran from 1976-1983 at UMA, the College of the Atlantic, and the Maine College of Art.

His son, Duff Plunkett, also a poet, was a champion of the arts in general and the Plunkett Festival in particular. He sat on the organizing committee for 17 years, where he brought his signature wit, creativity, and ingenuity to the festival program. In Portland, Duff was a mainstay at readings and a supporter of both developing and celebrated poets. He worked as an international economist, traveling extensively around the globe, especially in Africa. Fluent in at least eight different languages, Duff’s cultural breadth was extensive.

April 29, 2022 at 7:00 p.m.
Fireside Lounge in Randall Student Center, UMA Augusta Campus

This year’s festival theme is Race & Social Justice and UMA will celebrate poetry and host poetry-related eventsĚýthroughout April.

The 20^thĚýAnnual Plunkett Maine Poetry FestivalĚýat the Â鶹APP (UMA) will featureĚý, “2021 MacArthur Fellow, award winning author, poet, lawyer, and outspoken advocate for criminal justice reform” as its keynote poet for an in person event* at the Fireside Lounge on April 29, 2022 at 7:00 pm (doors open at 6:30 pm). The participation of Betts, as well as other festival programming, will connect the Plunkett Poetry Festival to Â鶹APP academic theme: Race and Social Justice. This event is free and open to the public, however,Ěý.

This year’s festival will offer a variety of events throughout April, including a poetry workshop on April 8, a panel discussion on April 22, and culminates with an in-person keynote address by Betts on April 29.

Betts’ most recent work is largely concerned with the effects of incarceration, including homelessness, drug abuse, domestic violence, as well as fatherhood and the possibilities of grace and love. As a man who experienced the criminal justice system as a teenager and transformed his life upon his release, Betts does more than write exemplary verse, he has lived a life that speaks to redemption, attending law school and working in public defense and advocacy.

Poetry Workshop – April 8, 2022

A poetry workshop with Maine Poet Laureate Julia Bouwsma will be held onĚýFriday, April 8th. This event will beĚýlimited to 15 participantsĚývia Zoom from 4:00 – 5:30 pm. Those interested in participating in the workshop are invited to contact Ellen Taylor atĚýellen.taylor@maine.eduĚýfor details.

Ěýis the sixth Poet Laureate of Maine and an off-the-grid homesteader, poet, librarian, editor, and teacher. Bouwsma is the author of two poetry collections,ĚýMiddenĚý(Fordham University Press, 2018) andĚýWork by BloodlightĚý(Cider Press Review, 2017). Honors she has received include the 2019 and 2018 Maine Literary Awards for Poetry Book, the 2016-17 Poets Out Loud Prize, and the 2015 Cider Press Review Book Award. She serves as Library Director for Webster Library in Kingfield, Maine and teaches in the Creative Writing department at the University of Maine at Farmington.

Panel Discussion – April 22, 2022

A Panel Discussion onĚýLiterature and Social JusticeĚýwill be held onĚýFriday, April 22, from 4:00 – 5:30 pm. Panelists will includeĚý;Ěý, Poet and Maine Humanities Council Educator;Ěý, memoirist and essayist; andĚý, poet and director of Maine Prisoners Advocacy Coalition. This event will be held via Zoom.Ěý Those interested in attending shouldĚý.

*In accordance with University of Maine System COVID-19 protocols in place at this time, face coverings are required for anyone attending events in UMS facilities.

Updated 4/13/22

For more information, disability accommodations, or to request the related materials to review before the event, please contact Sarah Hentges at sarah.hentges@maine.edu.

February 10—Slavery in the American Criminal Justice System

The documentary, 13th explores Section One of 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution which states: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” Sharon McMahon Sawyer (Justice Studies) will lead a discussion where we will discuss 13th and the relationship between this Amendment abolishing slavery in the United States and our current American criminal justice system.

February 17—Race & Racism After Genomics in U.S. Biomedicine

In this talk professor Kate Darling (Social Science/Sociology) discusses some of the ways that the molecular revolution has shifted concepts of race and ancestry among scientists, clinicians, and lay people. Race science has a long history in biomedicine. In our discussion, we’ll think through the ways we know race and racism in contemporary biomedicine.

February 24—Social Determinants of Health

Vickie Ireland (Nursing) will lead the discussion as we examine structural racism and poverty and how this contributes to inadequacies in health and wellness. We will also relate this information to rural populations and discuss Social Determinants of Health within the state of Maine.

March 3—Race and Social Justice in Ralph Ellison’s “Battle Royal”

Lisa Botshon (English) will lead a discussion on the short story “Battle Royal” by Ralph Ellison, which was first published in Horizon magazine in 1947. A slightly revised version of this short story became Part I of Ellison’s most famous work The Invisible Man, which came out in 1952. We will be reading this piece in conjunction with a Danforth Gallery show on The Invisible Man by Portland photographer Séan Alonzo Harris.

March 10—Art and Social Justice

Join Amy Rahn (Art) and special guest, Portland photographer Séan Alonzo Harris, as we discuss his work as well as his Danforth Gallery show on The Invisible Man. Harris’s work has been named by Maine Magazine as one of the “60 Most Collectible Artist in Maine” and has been featured by USA Today, LL Bean, Yankee Magazine, and Harvard Radcliffe Magazine, among others. He teaches Maine Media Workshops and a variety of collaborative, community-driven projects with nonprofit organizations. More information about .

March 24—Race and Social Justice Issues with Climate Change

Dr. Kati Corlew (Social Science/Psychology) will present research and implications regarding the human dimensions of climate change, with a particular focus on social justice, racial minorities, indigenous populations, and developing nations. Please be prepared to contribute to the Q&A and discussion session that follows.

March 31—Panel Discussion: New Mainer’s Public Health Initiative

Readings/Resources: please review New Mainers Public Health Initiative

Susan Baker (Biology) will chair this panel as Abdulkerim Said, director of New Mainers Public Health Initiative will talk about his work. Abdulkerim is a former student and UMA graduate. Jusuf Abdi, a local PA and UMA grad as well, may be willing to join him.

April 7—Penobscot Nation and Tribal Law

Judge Eric Mehnert and Magistrate Judge Rhonda Decontie will be joining us to share their experience and expertise concerning their work with the Penobscot Nation Tribal Court.

April 21—What Do You Stand For?

Justin Michael Williams argues that we are often fighting against racism when it is more productive to fight for the world that we imagine and envision. Sarah Hentges (American Studies) will lead this discussion as we consider how we move forward, as individuals and as a UMA community, and as a nation.

Readings/Resources: Justin Michael Williams, “Ending Racism: How to Change the World in One Generation”

April 28—Poetry for Social Justice: Reginald Dwayne Betts’ Felon

In anticipation of Reginald Dwayne Betts’ keynote reading at the Plunkett Poetry Festival on April 29, Noel Tague (English) will lead this session as we read and discuss his collection of poems, Felon. During class we’ll spend some time reading the poems aloud, connecting to earlier discussions in the semester about mass incarceration, and thinking about how poems can function as vehicles of resistance and change. We’ll also set aside some time to experiment with erasure poetry during class.

Baron Wormser to provide keynote and reading

The annual Plunkett Maine Poetry Festival will break out of its usual format to celebrate the Â鶹APP’s (UMA) 2020-2021 academic theme of “Outbreak,” a topic inclusive of viral outbreaks, outbreaks of social justice, and outbreaks of creativity.

The Plunkett Festival will partner with the UMA Danforth Gallery to provide a virtual multifaceted literary and arts event on April 30, 2021. Additional details on the Danforth Gallery Exhibition (which has been extended to May 6, 2021).

Providing the keynote for the event will be Maine’s former poet laureate (2000 – 2006), Baron Wormser. Wormser is the author of nine collections of poetry, as well as two texts on pedagogy, a memoir, and two collections of essays. He is an avid defender of poetry, peace, and the power of language to make collective change. Wormser will speak on Â鶹APP academic theme of Outbreak, as well as read some of his work.

The April 30 event will be filled with readings, art exhibits, an art installation, and a performance by artist and UMA part-time lecturer, Patricia Brace.

Tentative program schedule and festival information »

This past year has been challenging. We’ve been quarantining, masking, “pivoting,” rising up, breaking down, and just trying to keep it together.

To mark the events of this moment, the annual Plunkett Maine Poetry Festival will Break Out of its usual format to celebrate the Â鶹APP’s (UMA) 2020-2021 academic theme of “Outbreak,” a topic inclusive of viral outbreaks, outbreaks of social justice, and outbreaks of creativity.

Accordingly, the Plunkett Festival will partner with the will call on makers and writers of all kinds to contribute to a multifaceted literary and arts event scheduled to take place on April 30, 2021.

Anyone interested in contributing to one or more creative works to the Plunkett Festival should visit uma.edu/plunkett for details. Submissions are due by March 1, 2021.

The April 30 event will be filled with readings, art exhibits, an art installation, and performance by artist and UMA part-time lecturer, . Brace’s work addresses the relationship between intersectional feminism and politics through her use of dance, new media, and installation.

Providing the keynote for the event will be Maine’s former poet laureate (2000 – 2006), . Wormser is the author of nine collections of poetry, as well as two texts on pedagogy, a memoir, and two collections of essays.Ěý He is an avid defender of poetry, peace, and the power of language to make collective change.Ěý Wormser will speak on Â鶹APP academic theme of Outbreak, as well as read some of his work.

Additional details about the April 30 event will be made available on uma.edu/plunkett in the coming weeks.

Lunch Keynote will be Jaed Coffin. Coffin is the author of A Chant to Soothe Wild Elephants (Da Capo/Perseus, 2008) and, most recently, Roughhouse Friday (FSG, 2019). A regular contributor to Down East Magazine, his essays and stories have appeared in the New York Times, Nautilus, Jezebel, The Sun, and many other publications. He’s been a featured speaker at TEDx and Moth Radio Hour, as well as a guest at over twenty colleges and universities. Jaed teaches creative writing at the University of New Hampshire and lives in Maine with his wife and two daughters.

The conference overlaps with the annual Plunkett Maine Poetry Festival, featuring workshops, poetry writing contests, readings, and more.