James Wright Poetry Festival

We are again making The James Wright Poetry Festival an annual event, beginning with a one-day festival on Saturday, April 29, 2023, from 9 AM until 9 PM. As in past festivals, the poet James Wright’s life and work will be our focus. The festival Activities will take place in Martins Ferry, Ohio, James Wright’s

hometown, where many of his poems are situated.

The central events will occur at the Belmont County District Library at 20 James Wright Place.

All events will be free and open to the public, with a particular focus on residents of Martins Ferry, James

Wright’s hometown. Outreach efforts to area schools and universities, libraries, bookstores, arts groups, and more will help draw an audience to this re-imagined/revived festival and create a renewed sense

of community pride and interest in James Wright’s life and work. Moreover, we will be publicizing this event

well beyond Ohio, as Wright was a writer of national and international significance.