Sunday, August 7
Juan Felipe Herrera, United States Poet Laureate
& Peg Boyers
Music: Latin Heartbeat Ensemble
Featuring Latino Authors & Poets Community Conversation

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.

Juan Felipe Herrera
Juan Felipe Herrera is the 21st Poet Laureate of the United State (2015-2016) and is the first Latino to hold the position. From 2012-2014, Herrera served as California State Poet Laureate. Herrera’s many collections of poetry include Notes on the Assemblage; Senegal Taxi; Half of the World in Light: New and Selected Poems, a recipient of the PEN/Beyond Margins Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award; and 187 Reasons Mexicanos Can’t Cross The Border: Undocuments 1971-2007. He is also the author of Crashboomlove: A Novel in Verse, which received the Americas Award. His books of prose for children include: SkateFate, Calling The Doves, which won the Ezra Jack Keats Award; Upside Down Boy, which was adapted into a musical for young audiences in New York City; and Cinnamon Girl: Letters Found Inside a Cereal Box. Herrera is also a performance artist and activist on behalf of migrant and indigenous communities and at-risk youth.

Peg Boyers
Poet Peg Boyers was born in San Tomé, Venezuela, but spent her childhood on the move, living in such countries as Libya, Italy, Indonesia, and Cuba. Her collections of poetry include Hard Bread (2002), Honey with Tobacco (2007), and To Forget Venice (2014). Hard Bread contains a series of poems written in the voice of Natalia Ginzburg (1916–1991), an Italian writer, editor, and mother who witnessed World War II. Boyers carefully reconstructed Ginzburg’s experiences by illuminating the historical details of her life.

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.