Special 2003 Theme:
Ballads and Epics

City Lore and Poets House, in collaboration with the Bowery Poetry Club, invite you to celebrate this nation's—and the world's—oral and written poetries at the third People's Poetry Gathering, April 11-13, 2003.

The Gathering is a "paradise of poets," three days when the air in Lower Manhattan shimmers with voices in an exaltation of odes, sonnets, elegies, rants—poetry from ancient songs to postmodern epics. This year, the Gathering explores epics and ballads—narratives in poetry and song which still live in the poetic practice of people all over the globe. The Gathering also includes special programs with poets from Bosnia, Lebanon, Morocco, and Pakistan, and a Grand Peace Reading finale.