Blackbird Poetry Festival

The 2026 Blackbird Poetry Festival

SAVE THE DATE: Thursday, April 23, 2026

The Blackbird Poetry Festival will return with a day of events dedicated to Poetry. Please mark your calendars now for the events below! If you have any questions in the meantime, please contact Tara Hart (thart@howardcc.edu) or Brian Martin (bmartin@howardcc.edu).

Poetry Police 10am-11:30am

Morning Songs Writing Workshop 11:00am-12:15pm - Kittleman Room in Duncan Hall, Room 100

Featuring Truth Thomas

Participants should come prepared to write. For more information, contact Tara Hart (thart@howardcc.edu) or Brian Martin (bmartin@howardcc.edu). 
HCC Faculty and Staff Diversity Credit: links to be provided shortly

Sunbird Reading 2:00pm-3:30pm - Kittleman Room in Duncan Hall, Room 100

Featuring Sarah Kay

Sarah Kay will be joined by students, faculty, staff, and community members for an afternoon of poetry. This event is free and open to the public. After the scheduled readings, there will be an opportunity to share your own poem during our 'open mic' session. For more information, contact Tara Hart (thart@howardcc.edu) or Brian Martin (bmartin@howardcc.edu).

HCC Faculty and Staff Diversity Credit: links to be provided shortly

Nightbird Reading 

The Nightbird Reading in The Kittleman Room in Duncan Hall, room 100 will feature a poetry reading and Q&A with Sarah Kay, followed by reception and book signing. Nightbird is presented by our community partner, The Howard County Poetry and Literature Society (HoCoPoLitSo). While admission is free to current HCC students, all guests should RSVP in advance to obtain or purchase tickets: (Ticket Link coming soon). For questions, comments, or to request accommodations, please contact us at info@hocopolitso.org or 443-518-4568.

Festival Poet

Sarah Kay

SARAH KAY is a writer, performer, and educator from New York City who has been performing her poetry since she was fourteen years old. She has performed on Broadway, at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, the United Nations, the Sundance Festival, and many other venues of note, but has also shared her poetry in cornfields in Iowa, an orthodontist office in Nepal, a viking ship in Norway, a nightclub in Singapore, the Royal Danish Theater in Denmark, a public square in Estonia, the back rooms of dive bars, middle school gymnasiums, and many places in between.

Sarah holds a Masters Degree in The Art of Teaching from Brown University and an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Grinnell College. She is the author of five books of poetry: B, No Matter the Wreckage, The Type, All Our Wild Wonder, and her newest collection A Little Daylight Left. Sarah is the founder and co-director of Project VOICE, an organization that uses spoken word poetry to entertain, educate, and empower students and teachers in schools and communities worldwide. Photo credit: Emily Julian. For more, see: www.kaysarahsera.com

Truth Thomas