Create. inspire. support.
- The LOFT offers an ongoing venue of support for developing and established writers. While the main focus is on the creation of new works, LOFT workshops encourage the exchange ideas on craft, publishing and other literary topics. Our members have received local and national recognition for their poetry and literary works -- a wonderful byproduct of our creative journey together.
Workshops
Stay engaged and creative with our virtual workshops via Zoom and onsite venues. Ongoing workshops offer a welcoming and supportive environment for poets and writers to develop their craft and share new works in progress. Group size is limited to allow for effective feedback and discussion.
Providence Book festival
- The PBF connects nationally acclaimed authors with readers in a stimulating and personal way. Presented by Literary Arts RI, a 501(c) nonprofit, and sponsored by The Poetry LOFT, and the Providence Tourism Council.
Since the pandemic, The Providence Book Festival has been put on hold until further notice.
NEWS AND EVENTS
LOFT friends and members are welcome to SHARE good news and upcoming events with us. Email info@thepoetryloft.org.
EVENTS:
Words on Fire: OPEN MIC at William Hall Library, Cranston, RI Join us on Wednesday, Oct 2, 6-7:30 PM
Meets the first Wednesday of every month. Co-hosts Zack Berger and Ira Schaeffer. Registration required at: zach@cranstonlibrary.org or call 781-2450. Each writer will have 5 minutes maximum. Share your poems, fiction, non-fiction essays, and novel excerpts. For more info visit: events.cranstonlibrarry.org
NEWS-- Congratulations to the following writers:
James Cronin's second full length book, The Mortal Angels, published in Sept. 2024, is available for sale. His first collection, World of Shadows (Poetry Loft Press), is also available for sale on Amazon.
The Mortal Angels suffuses traditional forms with lyrical music and a broad range of illusions … all with philosophical aplomb and erudite wit. — Tina Cane, RI Poet Laureate Emeritus
Diana Cole's full length poetry collection, Between Selves, published by Indian press cyberwit.net in 2023, is available for sale. Her chapbook, Songs by Heart, is also available from cyberwit.net.
Ira Schaeffer won the Loft Chapbook Award for Summer Drowning (Poetry Loft Press, 2015) judged by Jane Lunin Perel. Schaeffer won first place in the 2016 Galway Kinnell poetry contest sponsored by the Pawtucket Arts Panel for his poems "Basic Training" and "Walking the Steere Hill Preserve." Ira's poem "Primavera" was nominated for a Pushcart Prize by Origami Poets Project in 2014.
Adele Bourne's book Tide Roaring In has been published by Kelsay Books, 2016. Available on Amazon.
Karen Haskell won second place for her poem in the 2015 Galway Kinnell poetry contest judged by RI State Poet Laureate Rick Benjamin, and Lisa Starr. Her chapbook, Sixty Years, was published by Finishing Line Press.
Judy Gamble's ekphrastic poetry has appeared in the Poetry and Art book published by the Wickford Art Association.
Beatrice Lazarus was honored to read from her book, Lay Bare the Canvas: New England Poetry and Art, at the Longfellow House, Boston, hosted by the New England Poetry Club. (Beatrice Lazarus, editor; Poetry Loft Press).
"Poets and Players" : A book launch sponsored by The Poetry Loft to celebrate the publication of chapbooks by Karen Haskell (Sixty Years, Finishing Line Press) and Sandra Moran (Caught in the Open, Poetry Loft Press). Featuring a staged reading of Analgesia, (Ars Medica, University of Toronto Press) a one act play by James Celenza, at the William Hall Library, Cranston RI.
Sandra Moran's chapbook Caught in the Open, a finalist for the LOFT Chapbook Award, was published by the Poetry Loft Press, 2016. Caught in the Open is elegant and edgy, and Moran a master of poetic slippage as she explores the lives of the forgotten and disenfranschised, the violated and the vulnerable." ~Catherine Imbriglio, Brown University instructor.
Help Our Mission To Support Writers
Your support and contributions will enable us to fund our outreach programs. Donations are greatly appreciated.
