The Palm Beach Poetry Festival will return in two years — but not in Delray Beach. Or Palm Beach County. Or Florida. With the passing of the festival founder and director Miles Coon in May 2022 at the age of 84, and the coincidental loss of its long-term venue in Old School Square, the future of the festival was in doubt. “I want to see the festival continue to … [Read more...]
Palm Beach Poetry Festival calls off 2023 event, plans return in 2024
DELRAY BEACH --- The Palm Beach Poetry Festival is taking a hiatus in 2023 as it regroups from the death of its founder, Miles Coon, and searches for a new home. Officials said the festival plans to return in 2024 in a new venue, a new city and with a new name. Founded in 2005, the festival brought many big-name poets, including poet laureates Billy Collins, Robert … [Read more...]
Palm Beach Poetry Festival founder Miles Coon dies at 84
Miles Coon, a former business executive who founded the Palm Beach Poetry Festival after coming to the art form late in life, has died, festival officials said. Coon, who was 84, died May 21, the festival said. Susan Williamson, the festival’s director, remembers Coon as the first poet who welcomed her to Florida in 2006 and got her a seat at the workshop that year, … [Read more...]