Hot off the Presses: The 2019 Poets House Showcase & Showcase Reading Series
Put some sizzle into your summer by taking a deep dive into what’s new in contemporary poetry at the 2019 Poets House Showcase! The annual Showcase, now in its 27th year, is a one-of-a-kind exhibition of more than 3,300 books of poetry published by over 800 presses during the past 18 months. We invite you to celebrate with us at the Opening Reception and Reading on Thursday, June 27, and to return in the ensuing weeks to browse the books in the Showcase and to attend other Showcase readings, featuring a wide range of poets whose collections are included in the exhibition. Find details below and mark your calendars!
The 27th Annual Showcase exhibition will be open during regular Poets House library hours: Tuesday–Friday 11:00 am–7:00 pm and Saturday 11:00 am–6:00 pm. The exhibit is arranged alphabetically by publisher with many books faced out to provide visibility to the diverse contributions of small presses, independent publishers, and major presses alike.
Admission is free to both the Showcase and the Showcase readings. The exhibition will be housed in Poets House’s Elizabeth Kray Hall, and, weather permitting, audiences for the readings may be seated outdoors in Teardrop Park.
Showcase Opening Reception & Reading, Thursday, June 27
Opening Reception: 6pm
Showcase Reading: 7pm
with Ross Gay (The Book of Delights, Algonquin Books), Tina Chang (Hybrida, W. W. Norton), and Tommy Pico (Junk, Tin House)
Showcase Reading, Thursday, July 11, 7pm
with Charles Bernstein (Near/Miss, University of Chicago Press), Andrea Abi-Karam (EXTRATRANSMISSION, Kelsey Street Press), Abigail Chabitnoy (How To Dress a Fish, Wesleyan University Press), and Ed Bok Lee (Mitochondrial Night, Coffee House Press)
Showcase Reading, Thursday, July 18, 7pm
with Brenda Shaughnessy (The Octopus Museum, Knopf), Roberto Tejada (Still Nowhere in an Empty Vastness, Noemi Press), Cody-Rose Clevidence (Flung Throne, Ahsahta Press), and Shayla Lawson (I Think I’m Ready To See Frank Ocean, Saturnalia Books)
Showcase Reading, Thursday, July 25, 7pm
with Asiya Wadud (Crosslight for Youngbird, Nightboat Books), Arthur Sze (Sight Lines, Copper Canyon Press), Chase Berggrun (R E D, Birds, LLC), and Jesús Papoleto Meléndez (PAPOLiTICO, 2Leaf Press)
Showcase Reading, Thursday, August 1, 7pm
with Eugene Gloria (Sightseer in This Killing City, Penguin Random House), Adrian Silbernagel (Transitional Object, The Operating System), Jesse Rice-Evans (The Uninhabitable, Sibling Rivalry Press), and Tina Cane (Body of Work, Veliz Books)