Curated by PGAHC's Office of the Poet Laureate and in celebration of National Poetry Month, the 2022 Festival of Literary Arts is purposed to support the cultural life of Prince George’s County by celebrating rich literary culture, engaging readers, supporting poets, writers and literary scholars, facilitating conversations, and inspiring the next generation through great literature and poetry. This online lively three-day event highlights the vibrant literary arts scene in Prince George's County with an array of literary talent in a series of events that include author readings, panel discussions, forums and much more.

This event will introduce attendees to The Furious Flower Poetry Center (FFPC), the nation’s first academic center established for Black poetry. Attendees will learn about FFPC’s history, tools, programs, and resources, to support creative writers, literary and cultural scholars, and poetry lovers everywhere. Discover FFPC’s quarterly literary publication, The Fight and The Fiddle; its recent poetry anthology, Seeding the Future of African American Poetry and more.

Additionally, this event will explore Bowie State University’s resources and course offerings for students interested in the university’s literary arts program. Professor Hoke Glover and Dr. Monifa Love will engage in an interactive and open dialogue with Prince Georgians interested in poetry and opportunities to pursue literary academic training at BSU. Panelists are encouraged to share original poetry during their discussions.

Attendees will have the opportunity to post questions, answers, and comments via the Zoom chat to inspire a robust and interactive dialogue between panelists and attendees.

This event will be a lively discourse on ways to engage members of communities in crisis, especially youth and young adults, on the merits of poetry and creative expression to address the physical and psychological trauma-related issues of grief, loss, depression, fear, and anger. Panelists will discuss resources available through their respective organizations and share poems as examples of coping and acknowledging serious mental health issues.

Panelists may also direct questions, writing prompts, and other positive coping techniques to the audience to fully engage them in the conversation and ensure a more individualized, interactive and supportive experience.

From the time they are infants, young children respond to and mostly “love” being read to. By engaging children with literature at an early age, the children can become life-long readers, a trait that often dictates an individual’s success level in life. In this closing event, conversation will be mostly directed towards parents and educators of young children, with a specific focus on helping young children to not only learn to read but to have a thirst for reading.

Attendees will gain information and resources to make reading fun for young children. Attendees will discover bookstores, reading lists, child-friendly literacy organizations, and author testimonies to encourage and promote literacy in young Black children.