The 2025 Massachusetts Poetry Festival

Come by our headquarters in Old Town Hall to purchase books by Festival poets and performers, provided by justBookish! JustBook-ish is a literary gathering space that provides programming and events for creative communities in Dorchester. Culturally curated, radically influenced, and locally inspired, justBook-ish seeks to shift the narrative in the publishing world by housing a collection of books by writers whose work often challenges political paradigms. Partnering with numerous organizations and artists, it offers a centralized hub and networking space in a cozy and comfortable book-cafe setting. In addition to philanthropic support, revenue from books and beverages will help to offset the cost of operations and programming.

At justBook-ish, we believe every person is like a book: judge not by the cover, but by the content, remember each person has a unique story, and always take good care of your spine.
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Help us Kickoff the Festival with a celebration of poetry in the Commonwealth! This event will feature readings by distinguished poets and poet laureates as well as our First Poem Contest Winners, with special appearances by state, local, and non-profit officials!

“If you don’t know where you are, you don’t know who you are.”
-Wendell Berry

Place is not just where we hang our hats, or where we go for the holidays—place shapes our identity; it’s a language that lives outside us. In this workshop, we’ll spend the morning exploring Salem through writing prompts. We’ll slow down and notice things we rush by on our way to the train. Take time to think about history and our place within it. You’ll have a chance to write in parks, by the water. Maybe we’ll make up stories for the statues, or write odes to the secret lives of the people you pass on the street. We’ll make a map of the sounds, and smells, and sights of Salem, by doing what writers do best: paying attention.

Event meets at Old Town Hall 

Is your mobility limited? There will be a number of writing prompts at Old Town Hall for those who would like to participate in the workshop but are unable to make the walk around town.

Come by our headquarters in Old Town Hall to purchase books by Festival poets and performers, provided by justBookish! JustBook-ish is a literary gathering space that provides programming and events for creative communities in Dorchester. Culturally curated, radically influenced, and locally inspired, justBook-ish seeks to shift the narrative in the publishing world by housing a collection of books by writers whose work often challenges political paradigms. Partnering with numerous organizations and artists, it offers a centralized hub and networking space in a cozy and comfortable book-cafe setting. In addition to philanthropic support, revenue from books and beverages will help to offset the cost of operations and programming.

At justBook-ish, we believe every person is like a book: judge not by the cover, but by the content, remember each person has a unique story, and always take good care of your spine.
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UPDATED RAIN LOCATION: Old Town Hall

Come check out small presses, lit mags, and literary organizations from Massachusetts and beyond!

• Adastra Press
• Cape Cod Review
• Cervena Barva Press
• Clara Elena García, Author
• Common Threads: Weaving Worlds Together
• Curious Corvid Publishing
• Five Buck Poetry Books
• Fork Apple Press
• Game Over Books
• Grey Coven Publishing
• Grolier Poetry Book Shop
• Hanging Loose Press
• Kelsay Books
• Massachusetts Center for the Book
• Naugatuck River Review/Wordpeace
• New England Poetry Club
• Nine Syllables Press
• Nixes Mate
• Page and Parlor
• Pangyrus Litmag
• Perugia Press
• Ploughshares literary journal
• River River Books
• Slate Roof Press
• Soundings East/Molecule
• Zephyr Press

Come by our headquarters in Old Town Hall to purchase books by Festival poets and performers, provided by justBookish! JustBook-ish is a literary gathering space that provides programming and events for creative communities in Dorchester. Culturally curated, radically influenced, and locally inspired, justBook-ish seeks to shift the narrative in the publishing world by housing a collection of books by writers whose work often challenges political paradigms. Partnering with numerous organizations and artists, it offers a centralized hub and networking space in a cozy and comfortable book-cafe setting. In addition to philanthropic support, revenue from books and beverages will help to offset the cost of operations and programming.

At justBook-ish, we believe every person is like a book: judge not by the cover, but by the content, remember each person has a unique story, and always take good care of your spine.
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Witness the words on the page become embodied through dance. This session will present six choreographer's work that have been inspired by poems from Mass Poetry Festival poets. The performance will conclude with a question and answer session focusing on their creative and collaborative process.