Palm Beach Poetry Festival cancels 2023 event, looks to 2024, relocation

Staff Report
·2 min read
Miles Coon
Miles Coon

Following the May death of founder Miles Coon and the loss of its longtime home at Delray Beach's Old School Square, Palm Beach County Poetry Festival officials have decided not to hold the event in 2023.

"After many careful discussions, we have decided to take time to regroup and reassess," the announcement, released July 8, read. "We will be taking time to develop a solid plan, which will involve the festival finding home in another city and a subsequent change of name.''

More: Palm Beach Poetry Festival founder Miles Coon dies at 84

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Mr. Coon, of Palm Beach, died May 21, following a long battle with polycythemia vera, a rare type of blood cancer. He was 84.

Founded in 2004 by Mr. Coon, a retired businessman and attorney who took up poetry later in life, the festival was a regular feature of January in Delray Beach. Major American poets — including U.S. poet laureates Billy Collins, Robert Pinsky and Natasha Tretheway — came to the city for a week of readings, workshops with aspiring writers and performances.

The festival has not been held live since 2020. The 2021 and 2022 festivals were held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nickole Brown
Nickole Brown

Mr. Coon had previously appointed Nickole Brown as his successor. Brown, a former editorial assistant to the late gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson and a one-time professor at the University of Arkansas, has published two full-length books of poetry and two chapbooks.

''It’s my aim to assure that what Miles started — along with the help of his dear friends, poets Thomas Lux and Kurt Brown — continues to evolve and thrive. I want to see the festival continue to provide the kind of nurturing community I’ve found there, a true home for any poet serious about words and what they can do in the world,” Brown said in a prepared statement.

Last year, Delray Beach city commissioners ended a lease agreement with Old School Square Center for the Arts Inc. after 32 years.

In related news, a virtual celebration of Mr. Coon and his poems is scheduled to be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday. To register, visit https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcof-6orjMpHdUOmeaevyPS4BHtGBeP9peS.

A Mythology in Poetry workshop was held during the 2016 festival.
A Mythology in Poetry workshop was held during the 2016 festival.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Palm Beach Poetry Festival's 2023 event canceled as organizers regroup