Jersey City Poetry Festival Returns With Three Days of Poetry and Performance

The Jersey City Poetry Festival returns for its second year with a three-day celebration of poetry, music, performance, and visual art, taking place September 25 through 27, 2026, across three Jersey City venues.

The 2026 festival is presented under the theme “Viva! Joy as Resistance,” exploring joy as an act of resilience, healing, and renewal. Organizers tied the theme to the nation’s 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, inviting audiences to consider the pursuit of justice, freedom, and belonging through the voices of artists across generations. The festival is a 2026 grant recipient of the Jersey City Arts Trust Fund.

The weekend opens Friday, September 25, with a kick-off party at The Stork Club at 2 Chapel Avenue from 7 to 11 p.m. The evening is headlined by the Resistance Revival Chorus, whose performances have appeared at Carnegie Hall, The Apollo, and the Grammys, along with recording artist Meecah and a lineup of poets and performers.

Saturday, September 26, brings the festival’s flagship program, “Synergy,” at Mana Contemporary from 4 to 9 p.m. The showcase is led by Richard Blanco, who was selected by President Obama as the fifth Presidential Inaugural Poet and was the youngest, first Latinx, immigrant, and openly gay person to serve in that role. The day also features a literary panel with Pulitzer Prize finalist Evie Shockley, Purvi Shah, and Eduardo Martinez-Leyva.

Saturday’s program will also spotlight young poets, including JCPOFEST Youth Poetry Ambassador Ethan Rodriguez and student performers from across Hudson County.

The festival concludes Sunday, September 27, with “Lazul,” an eco-centric group art exhibition at 301 West Side Avenue.

The festival was founded by Melida Rodas, Poet Laureate of Jersey City for 2024 through 2026.

“I believe a humble poem and art can bridge the divide between strangers, that imagination is the light guiding us forward, and that joy and hope are radical acts of courage,” Rodas said.

More information is available at jcpofest.org.