The 29th annual Beall Poetry Festival will take place at Baylor University from March 29-31, hosting contemporary poets, a panel discussion, and the Virginia Beall Ball Lecture on Contemporary Poetry. The event, which has a long history at Baylor, has featured previous participants such as Pulitzer Prize winners, National Book Award recipients, and Nobel Prize in Literature laureates.
This year’s festival will include readings by poets Shane McCrae and A. Van Jordan, as well as a critical lecture on contemporary poetry by Sumita Chakraborty, Ph.D. According to Sarah Ford, Ph.D., director of the Beall Poetry Festival and professor of English at Baylor’s College of Arts & Sciences, attendees can expect a variety of poetry styles and “experience the magic of stepping out of their task-filled scholarly world and thinking about large ideas in beautiful and challenging language.”
The festival also includes a Student Literary Contest and awards ceremony, where Baylor students will read their award-winning original works in poetry and fiction. A panel discussion featuring all invited guests will be held on the final day of the festival.
The Beall Poetry Festival is supported by the John A. and DeLouise McClelland Beall Endowed Fund, established in 1994 by Mrs. Virginia Beall Ball of Muncie, Indiana. The event is free and open to the public.
Central Texas Reporter 