To anyone who knows Miles Coon, the founder and director of the Palm Beach Poetry Festival, it should come as no surprise to learn that Coon starts off a phone conversation with a recitation of “A Lock of Her Hair,” by renowed American poet Robert Wrigley.
Wrigley is one of the luminaries — including Chard deNiord, Linda Gregerson, Thomas Lux, Maurice Manning, Molly Peacock, Brenda Shaughnessy and Patricia Smith — in the world of poetry who will descend on Delray Beach from Jan. 19-24 for the 11th Annual Palm Beach Poetry Festival.
“I’m beside myself this year,” says Coon. “We have great poets this year.”
The festival is a six-day poetry marathon in which aspiring writers meet with established ones in workshops, and public readings are held in various places in Delray Beach. Prominent poets appearing as special guests over the years have included Billy Collins, Natasha Trethewey and Robert Pinsky.
“Poetry gives us faith in the power of art to heal us,” says Coon. “It tells us what’s possible with a pen and paper; how we reach deep inside ourselves and each other so everyone can be part of your poem.”
“When we look at the world, it’s hard to see unity,” he says. “These poets capture how connected the world is. They capture the feeling and awe at the oneness of everything. This is part of the wonderful goal of poetry. We find that we are not apart — we are not red and blue, Muslims or Jews or Christians.”
The agenda includes poetry workshops such as “Naming The Nameless” with Brenda Shaughnessy, “Straining The Borders,” with Patricia Smith, and “Word by Word, Line by Line” with Thomas Lux, craft talks in which the poets discuss the exposition of what goes into crafting a poem.
On Wednesday, Jan. 21, guest poet Dana Gioia, former chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts under President George W. Bush, will present a gala reading of his works. Gioia said the Palm Beach Poetry Festival is one of his only out-of-state commitments this year.
In his much-discussed 1991 Atlantic essay, “Can Poetry Matter?” Gioia addressed some sensitive issues and concluded that poetry had become insular – poets writing for other poets – and had lost sight of what poetry can be – a tool to help one live better.
“The best of the arts and arts education can be brought to everyone,” Gioia said. “I believe in high quality with a democratic reach, not in bringing the exquisite to the elite.”
Gioia, who ran the NEA from 2003 to 2009 and was the only professional artist to be appointed to that position, is proud of his tenure.
“I launched the largest program in the agency’s history,” he says. “Our programs reached every community in the U.S. “
Those programs included “The Big Read,” the largest literary program in the history of the federal government, “Shakespeare in American Communities,” “Poetry Out Loud,” a partnership with The Poetry Foundation, and the “Great American Voices Military Base Tour,” which brought writing workshops to military bases around the country.
In his greatest military outreach, “Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience,” soldiers were encouraged to write about their experiences and their stories were compiled into a book.
Although he didn’t want to talk specifics about his successors, he noted that the Obama administration has not expanded the program at all over the past seven years, which he says surprises him.
“Believe it or not, the NEA does better under Republicans than under Democrats,” he says.
He attributes his success in running the agency to three things: thinking big, creating partnerships and operating at the highest possible quality.
As a writer and poet, Gioia strives for perfection.
“I want to write as well as I can,” he says, noting that he worked on one essay for a year and on a poem for 10 years, and has published four books of poetry over a span of 30 years. “I want to create something perfect and enduring,” he said.
For the first time in its history, the Poetry Festival will showcase a special multimedia dance, poetry and film event, titled Ballet’s Child, a collaboration between Tequesta poet Lani Scozzari, choreographer Donna Murray and filmmaker Tiffany Rhynard.
A first-person narrative of Scozzari’s recovery from an eating disorder, her poem is put to movement by Murray. The story recounts what it feels like to be a dancer and feel as if you’re not good enough because of your weight.
“I never imagined my poem would become a dance,” Scozzari says, “but it was fortuitous that I met Donna. She had a vision for my poem and it’s been a wonderful collaboration.
“I still get emotional when I see it,” she says. “It’s hard to believe from that dark place you can create something beautiful.”
Coon said audiences are “very moved” by the work.
“It shows how Scozzari moved from despair to a desire to live her life fully,” he said. “It’s a message of hope and recovery.”
Coon, who founded the festival and has watched it grow steadily, said he’s “really proud of the festival and our longevity over these past eleven years. It’s attracted many people and showed them how turning to poetry can be useful in their lives.”
The Palm Beach Poetry Festival runs from Jan. 19-24 at the Delray Beach Center for the Arts. Individual event ticket prices are $15 general admission, $12 for seniors, $10 for students. Tickets to the special Ballet’s Child dance/poetry performance are $20 general admission, $15 for seniors, and $12 for students. Group discounts are available for groups of 10 or more. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit: http://www.palmbeachpoetryfestival.org/