Member News

Rochester, NY—In partnership with Highland Park Conservancy, Writers & Books, Monroe County’s premier home for the literary arts, announces Poetry in the Bowl, a poetry-with-music event presented June 11 - 13, 2025, 6:30 - 9:30 pm, at Rochester’s mobility-friendly Highland Park, 1137 South Avenue, Rochester, NY. The public is invited to settle into the park’s historic green amphitheater with blankets or lawn chairs and absorb the lyrics of nationally renowned writers, beloved regional poets, and power-house local musicians. The festival culminates on Friday, 6/13, with a capstone reading by NY State Poet Laureate Patricia Spears Jones. Book signings and meet-the-poet opportunities occur between sets; ASL interpretation is provided. Learn more and access Gift Economy tickets, priced FREE - $50, at https://wab.org/poetry-festival-2025. The event’s rain venue is Third Presbyterian Church, 4 Meigs Street, Rochester, NY. 

FUNDERS 

Writers & Books’ poetry festival is made possible by Genesee Valley Arts Council’s Inspire Community Grant; the Rochester Area Community Foundation Grant for Strengthening Regional Vitality; NY State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature; Courtyard by Marriott; WowWerks; Mary S. Mulligan Charitable Trust; and Highland Park Conservancy. 

FESTIVAL LINE-UP 

Wednesday, June 11 | 6:30 -9:30 pm 

• Tokeya C. Graham, Rochester-based multi-award-winning writer, Monroe Community College professor, entrepreneur, community activist/volunteer, author of The Black Healing Project. 

• Reenah Golden, Anderson Allen, and David Shakes,” Rochester-based poets/actors present “In the Tradition,” a kinetic performance interspersing original verse with a reimagining of canonical Black Arts Movement writings. 

• Tony Leuzzi, poet, critic, and art maker with four books of poems, most recently Fog Notes, a finalist for the 2023 Big Other Book Award for Poetry. 

• Percussionists Steven Humphrey and Adrianne Santucci.