This year, Bookstock opens with a poetry performance by Bimpé Fageyinbo; features readings by well-known poets, including Robert Pinsky, a former US Poet Laureate, DiDi Jackson, Major Jackson, and Alison Prine. Plus you can have a poem custom written for you by Poet For Hire Ben Aleshire and join Bimpé Fageyinbo’s workshop The Art of Poetic Conversation on Sunday afternoon.
Bookstock Poetry Events
Registration is required for all Events and Workshops
Friday, May 16
6:00pm | The Hayloft, Artistree, Pomfret, VT
Bookstock 2025 will open with a reception at Artistree, in Pomfret, VT, followed by a poetry performance by Bimpé Fageyinbo. Bimpé, who will leading a workshop on Sunday, is a Nigerian artist who weaves poetry, film, prose, and documentary photography into her work to explore humankind’s profound inner questions. (more info ….)
Registration is required for all Events and Workshops
Reading by Robert Pinsky
Saturday, May 17
11:00am | Saint James
Robert Pinsky, the author of several books of poetry, was the Poet Laureate of the United States from 1997 to 2000. His many honors include The Lifetime Achievement Award from the PEN American Center.
Poet for Hire
Friday, May 16 | 1:00-5:00
Saturday, May 17 | 10:00-5:00
Sunday, May 18 | 10:00-1:00
On The Green
Saturday, May 17 | 10:00-5:00
Sunday, May 18 | 10:00-1:00
On The Green
Ben Aleshire, a Vermonter by birth, travels the world with his Olivetti typewriter as the ‘Poet for Hire’ and composes poems to order for strangers. He’s appeared in New Orleans, Paris, Barcelona, Havana, London, and San Francisco — and at festivals, private events, weddings, and conferences. He’s won awards for his poetry and other creative projects. He’ll join us on The Green where he’ll compose a custom poem for you!
Registration is required for all Events and Workshops
Sunday, May 18
10:30am | The Little Theater
Bookstock has featured many well-known and emerging poets at past festivals and this year is no exception. Chard deNiord, our poetry director, recruited three powerful voices for our 2025 festival.
Didi Jackson
Didi Jackson’s poems have appeared in major poetry journals, including The New Yorker, and in two collections. She’s the recipient of the Poetry Society of America’s Robert H. Winner Memorial Award.
Major Jackson
Major Jackson, the author of six volumes of poetry, has won many major awards for his work, including a Pushcart Prize. He is poetry editor of the Harvard Review.
Alison Prine
Alison Prine’s latest collection of poems won the 2023 Sappho’s Prize in Poetry. Her debut collection was named a finalist for the 2017 Vermont Book Award.
Didi Jackson
Didi Jackson’s poems have appeared in major poetry journals, including The New Yorker, and in two collections. She’s the recipient of the Poetry Society of America’s Robert H. Winner Memorial Award.
Major Jackson
Major Jackson, the author of six volumes of poetry, has won many major awards for his work, including a Pushcart Prize. He is poetry editor of the Harvard Review.
Alison Prine
Alison Prine’s latest collection of poems won the 2023 Sappho’s Prize in Poetry. Her debut collection was named a finalist for the 2017 Vermont Book Award.
Registration is required for all Events and Workshops
Led by Bimpé Fageyinbo
Sunday May 18
Sunday May 18
1:00pm | The Little Theater
$45
A workshop that explores the importance of conversation and the internal monologue in crafting poetics. More info and registration.