2025 Dutchess County Poet Laureate

Ruth Danon

  • Ruth Danon’s fourth book of poetry, Turn Up the Heat, was published by Nirala Series in 2023. Her prose and poetry have appeared in many publications in the United States and abroad, most recently in On the Seawall, Noon: The Journal of the Short Poem,Sunday Salon Zine, The Nu Review, and TheCAPS 25th Anniversary Anthology.  Her work is forthcoming in Pratik, The Beltway Quarterly,  and the Poetry is Bread Anthology, She has performed her poetry across the United States and abroad and has appeared in many podcasts and zoom readings For 23 years she taught in the Creative and Expository Writing Programs she designed and directed for NYU’s School of Professional Studies.  Founder of Live Writing: A Project for the Reading, Writing, and Performance of Poetry, she teaches for Live Writing and New York Writers Workshop. A Bard College graduate, she now lives in Beacon, NY, where she curates literary events and works to create a community of poets. She was one of the founding curators of the BeaconLitfest@the Howland. More about her and her poetry and career can be found at https://www.ruthdanon.com/

Upcoming Events

  • Poets and Projects

    6 poets from the Hudson Valley and beyond read poetry with links to other art forms such as painting, music, architecture and more!

    Friday, April 11, 2025 at 7:00 p.m.

    Click Here to Learn More!

  • Resistance: Poetry as Political Action

    Open Discussion, community open mic with Mike Jurkovic, Ruth Danon, Kate Hymes.

    Thursday, May 1, 2025 at 7:00 p.m.

    Click Here to Learn More!

  • Make it Playful, Make it Strange

    A 4 week  poetry workshop with Ruth Danon, Founder of Live Writing: A Project for the Reading, Writing, and Performance of Poetry.

    Begins May 7, 2025 | 7:00-8:30 p.m.

    Click Here to Learn More!

  • Poets’ Corner

    The Featured Poet will read for 20 minutes, followed by an open mic, with each poet getting up to 5 minutes. Registration will be available on-site on the day of the reading.

    Sunday, June 8, 2025 at 3:00 p.m.

    Click Here to Learn More!

  • Beacon LitFest

    Poets Ruth Danon, 2025 Dutchess Poet Laureate; John Yau, 2018 winner of the Jackson Prize in Poetry, among others and Gregory Pardlo, 2015 winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry will read and discuss their works in conversation with Andrea Talarico (Stanza Books).

    Saturday, June 14, 2025 at 10:30 a.m.

    Click Here to Learn More!

  • Laureates and Friends

    Three Poets Laureate and Three Friends read their work. This event introduces the three new Poets Laureate from Dutchess, Ulster, and Rockland County along with three poets who are the “friends” of this evening’s event. Poets are: Ruth Danon, Mike Jurkovic, Juan Mobili, Catherine Gonick, Jordan Davis, Mary Lou Buschi.

    Saturday, July 26, 2025 at 7:00 p.m.

    Click Here to Learn More!

Previous Poet Laureates