Beall Poetry Festival Celebrates Spring, New Growth Through Poetry
Three-day literary event features renowned poets and authors who will highlight contemporary poetry through readings, lecture and conversation
Contact: Shelby Cefaratti-Bertin, 254-327-8012
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Baylor University will host a premier American literary event of contemporary poetry – the 31st annual Beall Poetry Festival, a three-day event March 19-21, 2025, that features poetry readings, a panel discussion and the Virginia Beall Ball Lecture on Contemporary Poetry.
Each year, poets and authors are invited to read their work at the festival, visit classes and share new ideas in poetry. This year is no different with three renowned poets sharing their distinguished work with Baylor faculty, students and the local community.
“We have an amazing lineup this year,” said Chloe Honum, Ph.D., coordinator of the Beall Poetry Festival and associate professor of English at Baylor. “Carl Phillips, Victoria Chang and Christian Wiman are among the most distinguished and exciting poets of our time. Christian Wiman is also widely recognized as one of the greatest devotional writers of today.”
Poetry has a long and illustrious history at Baylor. Under the initial direction of Baylor professor A.J. Armstrong, Ph.D. (1873-1954), poets such as Robert Frost, Edna St. Vincent Millay and William Butler Yeats visited Baylor to read their poems. Previous Beall Poetry Festival participants have included winners of the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award and the Nobel Prize in Literature.
“The festival holds such a rich and remarkable history at Baylor,” Honum said. “It’s been a joy to organize the events, and I hope they’ll resonate with everyone, from longtime lovers of poetry to those just beginning to explore it.”
With the theme of “Words in Bloom,” the festival overlaps with the first day of spring as a celebration of blooming and new growth in creativity. Honum hopes attendees will “enjoy coming together to celebrate poetry and will leave with a renewed appreciation for the power and beauty of language.”
In addition to the two evening poetry readings, the festival includes a Student Literary Contest and awards ceremony where Baylor students read their award-winning original works in poetry and fiction, a critical lecture about contemporary poetry and a panel where invited guests answer questions about poetry and writing.
Schedule of Events
WEDNESDAY, March 19
3:30 p.m. Beall Poetry Festival t-shirt giveaway outside Carroll Science Hall.
Thursday, March 20
3:30 p.m. The Virginia Beall Ball Lecture in Contemporary Poetry by Christian Wiman, Treasure Room, Armstrong Browning Library
5:30 p.m. Poetry Reading by Victoria Chang, Treasure Room, Armstrong Browning Library
Friday, March 21
11:15 a.m. Panel Discussion with all participants, Treasure Room, Armstrong Browning Library. Ryan Sharp, Ph.D., assistant professor of English at Baylor, will moderate the panel with the discussion on contemporary poetry followed by a Q&A with the audience.
3:30 p.m. Student Literary Award Ceremony, Treasure Room, Armstrong Browning Library. The winners of the Student Literary Contest will be announced with six undergraduate prizes and two graduate prizes.
5:30 p.m. Poetry Reading by Carl Phillips, Treasure Room, Armstrong Browning Library
The festival is supported by the John A. and DeLouise McClelland Beall Endowed Fund, established in 1994 by Mrs. Virginia Beall Ball of Muncie, Indiana, to honor her parents and to encourage the writing, appreciation and celebration of poetry. Ball was a 1940 graduate of Baylor.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit the Beall Poetry Festival website.
ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. Learn more about Baylor University at www.baylor.edu.
ABOUT THE COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
The College of Arts & Sciences is Baylor University’s largest academic division, consisting of 25 academic departments in the sciences, humanities, fine arts and social sciences, as well as 11 academic centers and institutes. The more than 5,000 courses taught in the College span topics from art and theatre to religion, philosophy, sociology and the natural sciences. The College’s undergraduate Unified Core Curriculum, which routinely receives top grades in national assessments, emphasizes a liberal education characterized by critical thinking, communication, civic engagement and Christian commitment. Arts & Sciences faculty conduct research around the world, and research on the undergraduate and graduate level is prevalent throughout all disciplines. Visit the College of Arts & Sciences website