2025 Camden Festival of Poetry Keynote Speaker

2025 Festival keynote speaker was award-winning poet, translator & essayist, Jane Hirshfield.

“. . . poems move and change us. They bring hope. They bring community, inscribing into our thirst for connection poetry’s particular, compassionate compact, the inseparability of our own lives and the lives of others, of all that exists.”

–Jane Hirshfield, from Ten Windows

Meet the 2025 Festival Poets

Beau Williams

A former Ireland Poetry Slam Champion, Beau performs poetry and teaches writing, focusing on issues of the heart. His two collections are: Nail Gun and a Love Letter and Things I Blindly Took As Gospel.

Maya Williams (ey/they/she)

Maya is a religious Black multiracial nonbinary suicide survivor who was selected as seventh poet laureate of Portland, ME (2021-2024).

Judy Kaber

Judy’s poems appear in a variety of journals. Winner of the 2023 Maine Poetry Contest, 2024 Maine Literary Poetry Award, and 2024 Naugatuck River Review Poetry Contest, she is a past poet laureate of Belfast, Maine (2021-2023).

Myronn Hardy

Myronn is the author of Aurora Americana (Princeton University Press). His poems have appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Ploughshares, POETRY, The New Republic, The Georgia Review, The Baffler, and elsewhere. He teaches at Bates College.

Sal Taylor Kydd

Sal explores themes of memory and belonging, through her photography and poetry. Her work is exhibited internationally, with books held in collections throughout the country. She lives in Rockport, Maine.

Meet the 2025 Festival Performers

Ethan Tischler

is a Maine-based musician/educator with roots in the Champlain Valley of Vermont. Ethan has been teaching, performing, and recording music, mainly in Vermont and midcoast Maine. He delights in playing with Elsie Gawler (“Elsie & Ethan”) and with the Gawler Sisters and Gawler Family.

Louisa Stancioff

was born and raised in rural Maine, learning traditional Bulgarian tunes from her paternal grandfather’s side of the family and reveling in singing American folk and roots songs with her friends. Her LP ‘When We Were Looking’ was released on Yep Rock records.

Super Poem! A Brief History of the Prose Poem and Some Practice

A brief look the Prose Poem: when/where it emerged and how it’s come to be seen as “new.” Participants will begin a prose poem. Sample poems, a reading list and prompts will be provided. Door prizes will be given.

2025 Workshops

Carol Willette Bachofner, author of 7 poetry collections, served as Rockland Poet Laureate 2012-2016. She says: Poetry is a living thing, always evolving but never losing sight of its parentage, its legacy.

Revving Up Your Poems

Like pesky children, poets are well-known for asking direct and rhetorical questions about the uncertainty of life. After discussing six short poems that ask who, what, where, when, or why, we will write and share questions to trigger new poems.

Kathleen Ellis’ latest collection Body of Evidence won the 2022 Grayson Books poetry prize. Recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and Maine Arts Commission, she coordinates the annual POETS/SPEAK! in Bangor.

Going Deep and Wide with a Jane Hirshfield Poem

There are great rewards of staying with one poem. Using different entry points and various lenses, we’ll engage in close reading and deep listening. We’ll also pay attention to how the poem resonates in our lives.

Ellen Goldsmith reads, writes and teaches poetry. Her work has appeared in numerous journals and in anthologies. She’s published four chapbooks. Professor emeritus of the City University of New York, she lives in Cushing Maine.

Exploring the Pantoum

The pantoum, a Malaysian poetic form, guides the poetic imagination through repetition and emotion. With poems by Natasha Trethewey, Natalie Diaz, and A.E. Stallings as examples, we‘ll experiment with our own making of a pantoum.

Myronn Hardy is the author of, most recently, Aurora Americana (Princeton University Press). His poems have appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Ploughshares, POETRY, The New Republic, and elsewhere. He teaches at Bates College.

Exploring Memory and Imagery in Poetry

Through guided prompts and creative exercises, participants will craft vivid, sensory-rich poems inspired by meaningful objects, memories, and emotions, thus exploring the connection of sensory writing and emotional reflection.

Artist Sal Taylor Kydd explores themes of memory and belonging, through her photography and poetry. Her work is exhibited internationally, with books held in prestigious collections throughout the country. She lives in Rockport, Maine.

Converting the Poem Into Song

Using a participatory approach, we will explore the songwriting process from the poet’s perspective. With key concepts in music theory, we’ll set a foundation for poets to begin applying their craft in a musical setting.

Ethan Stokes Tischler is a Hope-based musician, educator, and musical engineer. He teaches and performs around Maine and New England with the trio Springtide, the duo Elsie & Ethan, and the Gawler Family Band.

Not All is Lost: An Exploration of Blackout & Found Poetry

What is the artistic purpose of erasure? How does found documentation online or in print benefit poetry? Inspired by poems by Nicole Sealey, Cameron Awkward-Rich, and Brittany Rogers, join us in this sampler of Blackout and Found Poetry.

Maya Williams (ey/they/she) is a religious Black multiracial nonbinary suicide survivor who was selected as Portland, ME’s seventh poet laureate from July 2021 to July 2024.

Tuesday May 13 • 6:00 - 7:15pm • A Welcome Reading at the Camden Public Library featuring:

Ben Rooney

is a farmer and carpenter. He loves geeking out on nature, outdoor recreating and all things that ferment. Artistic expression is something he strayed away from during adolescence. Only recently has writing poetry and music come back into practice, after a 10-year hiatus.
April Messier

is currently working on her master’s thesis, a manuscript of original poetry and poetics. Her work explores the relationship between lineage and identity as well as the healing capacities of language and the natural world. She gathers inspiration from her deep connection to this land that her ancestors have stewarded for many generations, and which she herself has farmed for over a decade. April lives with her partner Eric and two dogs in Belfast, Maine.
Carl Little

is the author of Blanket of the Night: Poems (Deerbrook Editions, 2024). His poetry has appeared in The Café Review, Maine Arts Journal and Maine Sunday Telegram, among other publications, as well as in several anthologies edited by Wesley McNair. In 2021 the Rabkin Foundation awarded him a Lifetime Achievement Award for his art writing. Little lives on Mount Desert Island.
Kristen Lindquist

lives in Camden and Monhegan Island. Her poetry and essays have been published in numerous journals and anthologies. Her first poetry collection, Transportation, was a finalist for a Maine Literary Award. Her other books include Tourists in the Known World and Island: Haiku, which received a Merit Book Award from the Haiku Society of America.
Sandra Lynn Hutchison

has published three books: Chinese Brushstrokes (a memoir), The Art of Nesting (poetry), and A Tale of Love (a translation). She has been the recipient of various literary awards and recognitions, including the Emily Dickinson Poetry Award and a Jane Kenyon Poetry Fellowship. Her most recent chapbook The Beautiful Foolishness of Things was a finalist in the 2022 Poet’s Corner chapbook contest.

Get all the info on the festival schedule

Thursday May 15 • 7:00 - 9:00pm • The Sonic Café featuring:

David Dodson

is a songwriter with a wide-ranging style—folk, rock, blues, country, and more. Known for sharp wit, warm storytelling, and a voice full of character, he’s been a beloved presence in Maine’s music scene for years. His songs swing from heartfelt to hilarious, always landing with soul.
Matthew Hawkins

was born in New Jersey, and after a few false starts, moved to Maine in 2021. He writes music inspired by driving around and sitting around. Some of his earliest memories are his mom singing to him, and sitting around a campfire, and he hopes that his music feels that way!
Rory McBride, Host

is a singer and poet based in Hope, Maine, where he crafts soft psychedelic folk infused with blues and spiritual tones. His life oscillates between that of an à la carte hyper urbanite and a poet routinely shamanizing in the pines. His work draws on memory, ritual, and the rhythms of land and sea. Through the platform of the Sonic Café, McBride hopes to bring new energy—spanning music and poem—to the Midcoast. As MC for the evening, he will guide the cadence of the show with presence and poetic intent.
Olivia Meridian

was born in the heart of Flint, Michigan, shaped by the Rocky Mountain West, and now resides—for the time being—in the land of the dawn. She has left through many a back alley door, under differing names, phases of the moon, and in all conditions, to grasp—amid dust, rot, moss, and cosmic goo—a few fleeting fragments of meaning, recorded into sound waves for a listener’s pleasure or displeasure, depending. She is also called “Americana.”
John and Rachel Nicholas

have been making music together since they met, blending soulful harmonies with a love of folk and roots traditions. Based in Midcoast Maine since 2012, they perform as a duo and with their band The Lowdown. They also host the Good Trouble Project, a concert series supporting local causes.
Kirby Porterfield

grew up in Alexandria, VA, and now lives in Midcoast Maine. Her smoky voice and dry humor reflect years spent in musical theatre, comedy, and cabaret. She plays shows along the coast, blending storytelling with a little edge.

Your Guide to the 2025 Camden Festival of Poetry

Kickoff Tuesday May 13

Public Reading and welcome
6:00 - 7:15pm at the Camden Public Library 55 Main St . Limited seating, get there early! More details here.

Thursday, May 15

The Sonic Cafe: Singer-Songwriter Open Mic Hosted by Rory McBride • 7:00 - 9:00pm in the Pilgrim Room, First Congregational Church of Camden, 55 Elm Street FREE and Open to the Public.

Friday, May 16

“Information, Invitation & Insight: Transitions in Poems”, a Craft Talk with Jane Hirshfield • 2:00 - 4:00pm at the Camden Public Library 55 Main St. Tickets must be purchased for this event.
Poetry Open Mic 7:00 - 9:00pm at the First Congregational Church, Camden.

Saturday, May 17

The Poetry Walk 10:00 - 11:00am Led by Rory McBride. Meet at the Town Hall at 29 Elm Street at 10 am.

All other events on Saturday will take place at the Congregational Church at 55 Elm Street.

Welcome by Festival Chairs 1:00pm
Maine Poets & Musicians 1:10 - 2:10pm
Find out more about them HERE.
Workshops 2:15 - 3:10. Sign up in-person. To see a list of Workshops, click HERE.
Refreshments and Book Fair 3:15 - 3:45pm
Awards presentations 4:00 - 4:15pm
Keynote address “Living by Poetry” with Jane Hirshfield.