The Sunken Garden Poetry Festival is a unique outdoor arts event located on the grounds of this National Historic Landmark in the heart of Farmington. Beginning on June 22, the festival presents the first of five performances, scheduled for three Wednesday and two Sunday evenings throughout the summer. Adding to the humanities-rich content of the festival, Hill-Stead offers poetry writing workshops with each headlining performer. The community cherishes this series of readings and music concerts in the informal outdoor setting of the Hill-Stead estate. Visitors can come early to tour the museum’s world-class Impressionist art collection, walk the trails or attend the pre-performance Prelude conversations with the headlining poets.

Wednesday, July 20
Ed Hirsch
& Clare Rossini
Music: Lords of Liechtenstein

dward Hirsch is a celebrated poet and peerless advocate for poetry. He was born in Chicago in 1950—his accent makes it impossible for him to hide his origins—and educated at Grinnell College and the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a Ph.D. in Folklore.
Edward Hirsch’s first collection of poems, For the Sleepwalkers (1981), received the Delmore Schwartz Memorial Award from New York University and the Lavan Younger Poets Award from the Academy of American Poets. His second collection, Wild Gratitude (1986), won the National Book Critics Award. Since then, he has published six additional books of poems.

Clare Rossini has published 3 collections, the most recent of which is Lingo. Work has appeared in Ploughshares, The Kenyon Review, The Paris Review, and the Best American Poetry series and has been featured on NPR and the BBC. She is Artist-in-Residence in the English Department at Trinity College in Hartford.

Festival Schedule: Gates open at 4:30 pm; Prelude conversation with headlining poet at 5:00 pm; opening poet at 6:00 pm; music begins at 6:30 pm; headlining poet begins at 7:15 pm.

Admission: $12 advance on-line purchase, $15 at the gate, ages 18 and under free. Parking is free.
Tickets & Season Passes: hillstead.org.
Seating: Bring a lawn chair or blanket for seating in and around the garden, or join Hill-Stead’s Live Poets Society to receive premier reserved seating. To join Live Poets Society, contact Kirsten Fuchs at 860-677-4787, x181, or visit www.hillstead.org.
Food: Al fresco dining is allowed on the grounds. Festival attendees are welcome to bring their own picnic suppers or purchase food, wine and other beverages on site from gourmet food vendors.