Austin International Poetry Festival

Austin Events and Festivals

Austin International Poetry Festival
September 27-30, 2012
Multiple Austin Venues
Admission - Free

Note: The Austin International Poetry Festival, now in its 20th year, has moved from April to September.

AIPF began in 1992 as the coordinated brainchild of four exremely talented local Austin poets - Herman Nelson, Thom Woodruff, Sue Littleton, and John Berry.

It has since grown into the largest non-juried poetry festival in the United States. What that means is that in addition to a handful of notable national and international poets that the festival features each year, any poet from anywhere can also secure a reading slot by following the registration process.

Or, as Walt Whitman would say:
Yet utter the word Democratic, the word En-Masse.

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The readings take place over four days each year in September (the first 19 years, the festival ran in April, or National Poetry Month) across numerous venues, including coffee shops, bookstores, and college campuses.

See official 2012 AIPF Venue Schedule

In conjunction with the readings, AIPF also publishes a select anthology ( di-verse-city ) each year from among those submitted by registered festival poets. Additionally, awards are also given for the top 3 poems from each year's anthology along with a couple of runner-up honorable mentions.

[note: check the AIPF website for registration and anthology submission deadlines - they differ.]

Up Ended - Poem by Dillon McKinsey, a 2012 AIPF Featured Poet . . .

Featured Poets @ The 2012 Austin International Poetry Festival

Each festival, AIPF features a number of notable international, national, regional, and local poets . In 2012, the featured poets are:

Candy Royal;e (Australia)
Dr. Kirpal Singh (India)
Sue Littleton (Argentina)
John Row (Suffolk)
Nathan Brown (Oklahoma)
Regie Gibson (Massachusetts)
Suzanne Zoch (New Mexico)
Timothy Mason (Cambridge, MA)
Daniel Ramos - Amarillo
John Gorman - Houston
J Paul Holcomb - Dallas
Ken Jones - Houston
Rod Carlos Stryker - San Antonio
Chip Ross - Austin
Dillon McKinsey - Austin
Jena Kirkpatrick -Austin
Mike and Joyce Gullickson - Georgetown
Steve Vera - Austin

2012 AIPF Participating Venues

Austin International Poetry Festival readings and performances will take place at the following 24 local venues:

Austin Children's Museum
Austin History Center
Bahai'i Faith Center
Barnes & Noble Arboretum
Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum
BookWoman
Brave New Books
Cafe Caffeine
Caffe Medici
Hideout Coffeehouse
Hot Mama's Cafe
Huston-Tillotson Univeristy
Kickbutt Coffee - Triangle + Airport BLVD
La Sombra
The Long Center
Maria's Taco Xpress
NeWorlDeli
Ruta Maya
South Austin Bar & Grill
Strangebrew
Threadgill's
Twin Oaks Library
Ventana Del Soul
Westminster Manor