Overview
April is National Poetry month, and Randolph is gearing up for its 13th annual celebration of this form of the written word. PoemTown (and the originator, Montpelier’s PoemCity) has become a popular event around Vermont and Randolph joins St. Johnsbury, Brattleboro and Bradford in celebrating this craft.
Starting April 1st, visitors and residents will be able to enjoy poems gracing numerous windows in Randolph’s downtown as well as at the Whale Tails near Exit 4. Poems may also be found along the floodplain forest trail accessed near Valley Bowl off Prince St. For a full list of the poems and where they are located, as well as details about this year’s live events, visit the PoemTown website www.poemtown.org.
There will be four free live poetry events starting on Friday, April 3rd with our open mic event at the White River Craft Center where anyone can bring poems to read or just come to listen.
Next up, on Thursday, April 9th will be a reading by the so-called “Pie Poets”. The Pie Poets include Ina Anderson, Doreen Ballard, Beverly Breen, Debby Franzoni, and Hatsy McGraw. Their name comes from their first collection titled, “Perhaps it was the pie.” The Pie Poets will read at Chandler’s Esther Mesh Room with a pie reception following the readings.
Thursday, April 16 will feature a Vermont favorite and reigning poetry slam champion, Geof Hewitt, reading at Chandler’s Esther Mesh Room. Geof has degrees from Cornell, Johns Hopkins, and the University of Iowa. He is the author of four books of poems and three books for teachers and regularly hosts poetry slams throughout the state. He worked for the state arts council and for the Vermont Department of Education. Now retired, Geof offers writing and performance workshops throughout the state.
The finale event is on Saturday, April 25th at Silloway Maple Sugar House with farmer poets led by Taylor Mardis Katz. All of the live events are free and begin at 7 PM. Poetry is meant to be read out loud and this year features a wonderful lineup of poets.
PoemTown is organized by a small group spearheaded by local poet Janet Watton with support this year from Jon Kaplan and Christina Stron. The 2026 PoemTown Randolph celebration is sponsored by a number of generous local businesses as well as the Jack and Dorothy Byrne foundation.
As in past years, all the selected poems are collected in a bound anthology that is available to purchase. Extra copies will be available for $15 at each of the live events and additional order information can be found on the PoemTown website - www.poemtown.org. Event organizers are hoping for good weather so that people can enjoy the poetry around town and for good turnout at the live events throughout the month.
