Legacy of Poetry Festival
Feeding Our Hunger
April 28th-30th
4:00-7:00 p.m.
SJSU Student Union Theater
Free
The SJSU Annual Legacy of Poetry Festival continues its longstanding tradition of presenting readings and panels exploring various aspects of poetry and poetics every April. The festival features nationally prominent poets along with poets from SJSU and South Bay communities.
Legacy of Poetry Festival Day 1: Sharing Our Food and Culture(s)
Welcome to the first day of SJSU’s Legacy of Poetry Festival, presented by the Poets and Writers Coalition.
April 28th
Student Union Theater, 4:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Enjoy an evening of readings in the Student Union Theater or on Zoom from SJSU Legacy of
Poetry by faculty, staff, alumni, and student poets. Plus special readings from university officials. Featuring a special appearance by poet and memoirist; Marcelo Hernandez Castillo and Prof. J. Michael Martinez reading from his forthcoming poetry book, Tarta Americana, to be published by Penguin Poets.
Legacy of Poetry Festival Day 2: Feeding Our Hunger
Welcome to the second day of SJSU’s Legacy of Poetry Poetry Festival, presented by the Poets and Writers Coalition.
April 29th
Student Union Theater, 4:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Meet us back at the Student Union Theater or on Zoom for an evening full of festivities and knowledge. Playing a screening of Gerald Stern’s Still Burning, we honor the poet and his work throughout time. Following the tribute, enjoy a Keynote poetry performance by the 2023 Frost Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Poetry recipient, Juan Felipe Herrera, (U.S. Poet Laureate 2015 - 17), and Lee Herrick, current California Poet Laureate. Also featured will be Sally Ashton, poet, writer, Editor-in-Chief of the DMQ Review and an SJSU Lecturer emerita (Santa Clara County Poet Laureate, from 2011-2013) and Arlene Biala, a Filipina American poet and performance artist born in San Francisco (Santa Clara County Poetry Laureate 2015 – 2017)!
Legacy of Poetry Festival Day 3: Ghost of Cesar Chavez
Welcome to the third day of SJSU’s Legacy of Poetry Poetry Festival, presented by the Poets and Writers Coalition.
April 30th
Student Union Theater, 4:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Join us back at the Student Union Theater or on Zoom at 2:30 pm to watch Poetry Performance Videos screened on YouTube, sponsored by DPWC. Following that, we pay tribute to Cesar Chavez on the thirtieth anniversary of his death through student readings and performances with author J. Michael Martinez.
We will end the evening, and the festival, with a Feeding San José/Ghost of Cesar Chavez Keynote performance by playwright/essayist/poet Luis Valdez, and also featuring David Dominguez, Xochiquetzal Candelaria, Tshaka Campbell and Yosimar Reyes!
The Legacy of Poetry Festival is supported by the College of Humanities & the Arts Artistic Excellence Programming Grant, the MOSAIC Cross-Cultural Center and Poetry Center San José. This event is supported in part by Poets & Writers.