The Sunken Garden Poetry Festival is celebrating its twentieth season of words among the roses. This weekly summer event is held in a bucolic section of Farmington, where sheep might add to the ambiance by bleating during a poetry reading.
Hartford residents can take a free shuttle bus from the Downtown library (Arch Street) and Albany branch (Albany Avenue) to the Hill-Stead Museum. Admission is also free for Hartford residents. There is no need to RSVP.
The bus leaves the Downtown library at 5pm and Albany branch at 5:15. It departs from Hill-Stead at 9pm.
Christian Wiman will be the featured poet on June 27th, and Liz Queler and Seth Farber will provide music early in the evening.
On July 11th, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Natasha Trethewey, who has just been named the next poet laureate of the United States, will be featured. The musical act opening for her will be Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem.
Renowned poet Donald Hall will be reading on July 25th, with Brass City Brass setting the mood for the evening.
Ed Fast and Conga-Bop will provide the music on August 1st; Tony Hoagland will follow them.
Bring a lawn chair or blanket. Refreshments are sold on site; visitors are allowed to bring their own food. For those who do not do well sitting for a long time, there are trails on the museum’s grounds for the exploring. The festival goes on, rain or shine.
Funding for this has been made possible through the Charles and Doris Bryan Fund and the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.
UPDATE: We have been informed that there will be no transportation provided from the Hartford Public Library to Hillstead on July 25th or August 1st.
