The West End Poetry Festival will highlight kinship and youth writers

The West End Poetry Festival will highlight kinship and youth writers Categories: Lifestyle The West End Poetry Festival will highlight kinship and youth writers The annual event will be held from Oct. 15 to 17 at venues across Carrboro. Darden Cone, Staff Writer • October 14, 2026 A speaker addresses attendees during the West End Poetry Festival in Carrboro on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. Photo courtesy of Catherine Lazorko/Town of Carrboro. Carrboro’s spirited art and writing community will continue flourishing through the annual West End Poetry Festival, which will be held Oct. 15 to 17. The event brings together established writers, aspiring poets and the community for three days of free poetry events. “I think that the West End Poetry Festival is one of those few beautiful third spaces that uses poetry as a way to help a community understand itself,” Carrboro Poet Laureate and Carrboro Poets’ Council member Amanda Bennett said.  The festival’s theme this year — kinship, community and belonging — was proposed by Bennett to embrace the idea that everyone is welcome at the event, even if they don’t have a published piece of writing or distinction under their belt. “I wanted to be able to use that idea of kinship to say we may not all share a publication record, but we all share a love of creativity and community and language,” Bennett said. “So, let’s bring that all together.” The festival will begin Thursday with an open mic and poetry readings at Steel String Brewery, followed by youth workshops and community discussions on Friday at the Drakeford Library Complex. Saturday’s events will take place at the Carrboro Century Center, featuring additional workshops, poetry readings and opportunities for attendees to share their work. Bennett said she hopes the festival will continue Carrboro’s history of advocating for social justice and honoring its different communities. “I think that the festival has always been the kind of cultural arm of that deep philosophical and governance work that Carrboro has always done,” Bennett said. “It shows we carry out our values through how we create in the world.” Bennett will be part of facilitating a panel exploring Black Southern kinship and the role of poetry in sustaining community relationships. Attendees can expect performances from G.L.O.W. Girls poetry contest winners — an organization that supports young Black girls — a youth writing workshop led by Chapel Hill Poet Laureate Donovan Livingston and a poetry workshop with UNC assistant professor Tyree Daye. “I think that people can really look forward to not just learning how to write poetry, but also how to build spaces like this in their own way. We want to send that knowledge on,” Bennett said. Former Carrboro poet laureate Liza Wolff-Francis, who currently serves on the Carrboro Poets’ Council, said this year’s festival will feature more youth participation. She said the festival welcomes everyone, regardless of their experience with poetry, and encourages attendees to explore the different events. “You don’t have to be a poet or consider yourself a poet, or if you’re unsure about whether you’re a poet or not, it doesn’t matter. Everybody’s welcome,” Wolff-Francis said. Grayce Curry, Carrboro’s recreation supervisor specializing in the arts, helps coordinate the festival alongside the Carrboro Poets’ Council. Her work includes managing event logistics, funding and publicity while the council selects participating poets. Curry said that the festival welcomes everyone, regardless of writing experience, offering opportunities to share work, discover local voices or just listen to some powerful poetry. “It’s wonderful because what you are trying to do is build community and make space for all of these folks to come together and enjoy poetry and share their poetry and share their thoughts in a safe and inclusive place,” Curry said. @dailytarheel | [email protected] 0 Like This Story Share on Facebook Share on X Email this Story Print this Story More to Discover More in Lifestyle Service dogs for new nonprofit Lux’s Purpose are already changing lives UNC Artists in the Archives Student Fellowship lets creatives of all kinds discover their next inspiration I made Instagram casual again. You should too. Stop by stop, the Chapboro Book Crawl promotes collaboration between local bookstores How a local group of friends redefined the traditional prom experience as adults Rock out with percussionist and Provost Magnus Egerstedt on University Day