Arts & Entertainment
Poetry, Protest And A Hidden Garden: Ridgefield Festival Returns
Ridgefield's Poetry in the Garden returns with Richard Blanco, Marilyn Nelson and other acclaimed poets.
RIDGEFIELD, CT — On four Monday evenings in July, the historic walled gardens behind Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center will once again become one of Ridgefield's most unusual cultural venues.
The sixth annual Poetry in the Garden Festival returns July 6, bringing an all-star lineup of nationally recognized poets to a setting that many visitors still don't realize exists behind one of the town's best-known historic sites. Founded in 2021 by then-Ridgefield Poet Laureate Barb Jennes, the free outdoor series was created as a way to reconnect people through art and community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, it has grown into one of the area's most anticipated literary events.
"I thought, what if we have an outdoor venue where people can space themselves and still enjoy culture and community that we had all missed so much during the pandemic?" Jennes told Patch. The answer turned out to be the gardens at Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center, which later embraced the festival as part of its cultural programming.
This year's theme, "Voices of the New Revolution," connects to both the nation's upcoming 250th anniversary and Keeler Tavern's America 250 programming. Rather than focusing on the Revolutionary War itself, the festival highlights poets whose work addresses issues including immigration, racism, inequality, identity and social justice. Jennes described the featured writers as voices speaking out against oppression and injustice while advocating empathy and empowerment.
The festival's growth has mirrored its rising profile. What began with a few dozen attendees now regularly attracts crowds of 100 or more. Jennes said the final two readings of 2025 were standing-room-only events, fueled by word-of-mouth recommendations and an increasingly prominent roster of featured poets.
The 2026 lineup includes several of the most acclaimed poets working today.
Monday, July 6, 7 p.m.
The festival opens with Patricia Spears Jones, the 2023 New York State Poet Laureate and winner of the 2017 Jackson Poetry Prize. A poet, playwright, educator and cultural activist, Jones has taught creative writing at colleges and universities across the country and serves as a Senior Fellow Emeritus of the Black Earth Institute. Joining her is January Gill O'Neil, author of four poetry collections, including "Glitter Road," winner of the 2024 Poetry by the Sea Best Book Award and the Julia Ward Howe Prize. O'Neil teaches at Salem State University and is the longest-serving current member of the Association of Writers & Writing Programs Board of Directors.
Monday, July 13, 7 p.m.
The second week features Richard Blanco, selected by President Barack Obama as the nation's fifth inaugural poet and the first Latino, immigrant and openly gay person to serve in that role. His poetry often explores themes of place, belonging and identity. Also reading is Sonia Guiñansaca, a Kichwa-Kañari poet and cultural organizer who helped lead the first generation of young undocumented immigrants to publicly share their stories. Guiñansaca co-edited the award-winning anthology "Somewhere We Are Human: Authentic Voices on Migration, Survival, and New Beginnings."
Monday, July 20, 7 p.m.
The third installment brings Sean Thomas Dougherty, author of 21 books, including "Death Prefers the Minor Keys" and "The Second O of Sorrow, which won the Housatonic Book Award and shared the Paterson Poetry Prize. He will be joined by Charles Rafferty, a Connecticut poet, novelist and songwriter whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, Ploughshares and Prairie Schooner. Rafferty has published 15 poetry collections and chapbooks and has received grants from both the National Endowment for the Arts and the State of Connecticut.
Monday, July 27, 7 p.m.
The festival concludes with two literary heavyweights. Cornelius Eady, co-founder of Cave Canem, is the author of "Hardheaded Weather" and "The Gathering of My Name," a Pulitzer Prize nominee. Earlier this year, he read his poem "Proof" during New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's inauguration ceremony. Sharing the stage will be Marilyn Nelson, the former Connecticut Poet Laureate, whose honors include the Ruth Lilly Award, the Robert Frost Medal and the Wallace Stevens Award for lifetime achievement. Nelson has authored or translated 20 poetry collections and chapbooks for adults, young adults and children.
All readings begin at 7 p.m. and are free to attend. They take place in the historic walled gardens at Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center, 152 Main St. Organizers encourage attendees to arrive early, particularly for later readings that could attract large crowds.
For Ridgefield residents looking for a summer evening of literature, conversation and community, Poetry in the Garden offers a chance to discover nationally known poets in one of the town's most picturesque and unexpected settings.
