Events

The annual meeting of the Worcester County Poetry Association will be held in the ball room of The Salisbury House, followed by a reading by new Worcester Poet Laureate Nicole "Nic" Jean Turner! Nicole Jean Turner is the poet laureate of Worcester, Massachusetts for 2026-2028; a hand-patched, sticker-smattered, snagged-lace-layered writer. She writes in cursive to […]

Spend five weeks writing and reading in the dreamy, sharp, upside-down, carefully organized world of poetry! Whether you’re fine tuning your latest epic poem or wrestling with the blank page, this class is an encouraging and open environment for poets of all levels and backgrounds. Each week you’ll receive a prompt, two fascinating poems to […]

The poet, Fred Gerhard, recently published his mother’s poetry and will be reading from her works as well as his own. In 2026, Fred Gerhard, author of Drifting to “Hello” (Khotso, 2023) and Lilacs Still Bloom in Ashburnham (Local Gems, 2023), will be reading his poems and poems from the recently published posthumous collection from his mother, Rena Gerhard, The […]

Due to February's extreme cold and snow, Mapping Worcester in Poetry had to put off the annual birthday celebration at Bishop's grave in Hope Cemetery for a few weeks. Now, come join us to hear local poets read her poems about cats, roosters, armadillos, horses, giant toads, sandpipers, dogs, lions, loons, moose, and more. Readers […]

The public is invited to a spoken word/poetry reading to celebrate International Women’s Day on Sunday, March 8 th organized by Poets at Large. The free event will be held at The Rose Room, 4 E. Main St., Webster, MA from 1-3 p.m. Featured readers will be Fred Gerhard, Meg Smith and Karen Warinsky. There […]

Spend five weeks writing and reading in the dreamy, sharp, upside-down, carefully organized world of poetry! Whether you’re fine tuning your latest epic poem or wrestling with the blank page, this class is an encouraging and open environment for poets of all levels and backgrounds. Each week you’ll receive a prompt, two fascinating poems to […]

On March 11th, 2025, the WCPA is proud to host its annual Women’s Zoom Reading. If you would like to attend, please CLICK HERE. Here is the reading list & order of readers: 1.        Catherine Zebrowski grew up in Worcester County. Worcester has been an inspiration for hertwo novels Sleepwalking Backwards and Through a Bakery Window, along […]

Sunrise/Sunset Reading: Poetry Bridging Continents. Poets from USA, China and Ireland read in three languages. March 15 8:00 AM:  The Zoom link is below: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81561710109?pwd=uVtWBOWW33QXJjuncRKwLLRdPaeSPa.

Zoom Online Link

Spend five weeks writing and reading in the dreamy, sharp, upside-down, carefully organized world of poetry! Whether you’re fine tuning your latest epic poem or wrestling with the blank page, this class is an encouraging and open environment for poets of all levels and backgrounds. Each week you’ll receive a prompt, two fascinating poems to […]

The 2026 Michael True Memorial Reading with novelist Lauren Grodstein Tuesday, March 17, 7:30 PM Curtis Performance Hall Tsotsis Family Academic Center Assumption University Free and open to the public. Lauren Grodstein is the author of 6 novels, including We Must Not Think of Ourselves, The New York Times bestseller A Friend of the Family, and, the […]

Join us at The Mill in West Boylston on March 18th. The Mill is right off Rt 190, has a spacious parking lot, serves delectable apps, entrees, and desserts with a full bar. We have a separate room for our monthly shenanigans. Admission is still free. All of the Tip Jar proceeds go to the […]

Happy Spring Equinox  Open Mic Poetry Saturday, March 21st 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm Join us for a monthly round robin style, open poetry reading hosted by Robert Eugene Perry. Space for the open mic is limited to 14 and usually fills up quickly. Please email deb@bookloversgourmet.com to register. All are welcome to come listen!

Poets at Large Presents Schwartz and Reilley March 21st Poets at Large will continue its seventh year on Saturday night, March 21st at 7 p.m. at The Vanilla Bean Café, 450 Deerfield Road, in Pomfret, CT. Featured poets that evening will be Christopher Reilley and Carla Schwartz. Worcester poet Christopher Reilley is a two-time Pushcart […]

WHAT: Slightly Off-beat Poets Presents: Oliver de la Paz & David P. Miller WHERE: WCPA Ballroom at 61 Harvard Street, Worcester (parking right next to Salisbury House) WHEN: Sunday March 22nd @ 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm WHAT HAPPENS: Our feature poets of the month will each read for 20 minutes. Then we will take a […]

Spend five weeks writing and reading in the dreamy, sharp, upside-down, carefully organized world of poetry! Whether you’re fine tuning your latest epic poem or wrestling with the blank page, this class is an encouraging and open environment for poets of all levels and backgrounds. Each week you’ll receive a prompt, two fascinating poems to […]

The Thirsty Lab poetry reading, normally based out of Princeton, MA, continues to meet virtually. Join us on Tuesday March 24th virtually on Zoom with none other than C. I. Marshall, our featured reader! C. I. Marshall’s debut chapbook, The Locksmith Journeys Into The Afterlife won the 2022 Frosted Fire First Pamphlet Award. Credits include: Steam Ticket, Birmingham Poetry […]

Please join us for a very special double feature edition of our monthly open mic and featured poetry reading series The Poetorium Too at TidePool Bookshop at 372 Chandler Street in Worcester, MA on March 25th from 5 pm to 7 pm hosted by Paul Szlosek & (hopefully) Ron Whittle. It will be a full two hours of poetry and spoken word starting with a brief interview on stage with […]

Zoom Link

Meet the editors of the WCPA's publication, Three Decker! We're available to talk through our current submission period, what we're looking for in poetry and short stories, and any other questions you have about the journal or the WCPA. Worcester County Poetry Association is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: Three Decker Meet […]

Spend five weeks writing and reading in the dreamy, sharp, upside-down, carefully organized world of poetry! Whether you’re fine tuning your latest epic poem or wrestling with the blank page, this class is an encouraging and open environment for poets of all levels and backgrounds. Each week you’ll receive a prompt, two fascinating poems to […]

The Thirsty Lab poetry reading, normally based out of Princeton, MA, continues to meet virtually. Join us on Tuesday March 31st virtually on Zoom with none other than Eve Rifkah, our featured reader! Eve Rifkah is a poet of history and myth. She earned her MFA in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She was co-founder of Poetry Oasis, […]