seminar

The Key West Literary Seminar is a four-day celebration (January 7–10, 2027) that explores a different theme each year. Thirty-four years ago we focused on poetry with a visionary gathering dedicated to the life and work of Elizabeth Bishop, now firmly recognized among the great literary voices of the 20th century. Now, having completed the restoration of Bishop’s former Key West home, we return to this oldest and richest of literary forms.

Join us for this unique opportunity as we gather some of today’s most celebrated poets, translators, and special guests for a program designed to provoke conversation and deepen understanding about important literary works and their authors. Confirmed presenters are pictured below; click through for additional biographical material, brief bibliographies, and links to other resources around the web.

Featured Authors:

Hanif Abdurraqib

His bestselling Go Ahead In The Rain: Notes To A Tribe Called Quest was a Kirkus Prize finalist and longlisted for the National Book Award.

Gabrielle Calvocoressi

Their latest poetry collection, The New Economy, was a finalist for the 2025 National Book Award in Poetry.

Billy Collins

Called “the most popular poet in America,” he is a two-term U.S. Poet Laureate, New York State Poet, and author of 15 poetry collections.

P. Scott Cunningham

Poet, essayist, and the founder and former executive director of O, Miami.

Natalie Diaz

Pulitzer Prize winner for her book Postcolonial Love Poem, MacArthur Fellow, and National Book Award finalist.

Jonathan Galassi

Former president and publisher of Farrar, Straus & Giroux and currently its chairman and executive editor.

Kimiko Hahn

Winner of the 2023 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize and the author of eleven collections of poetry, most recently The Ghost Forest.

Langdon Hammer

Professor of English at Yale University and author of James Merrill: Life and Art and editor of A Whole World: Letters from James Merrill.

Marie Howe

Winner of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for her newest book, New and Selected Poems.

Adrian Matejka

Editor of Poetry magazine and author of The Big Smoke, a Pulitzer and National Book Award finalist.

Campbell McGrath

He’s won some of the most prestigious awards in American letters, including a Guggenheim and a MacArthur “Genius Award.”

Paul Muldoon

Pulitzer Prize winning poet described as “the most significant English-language poet born since the second World War” by The Times Literary Supplement

Rowan Ricardo Phillips

National Book Award finalist and poetry editor of the New Republic, his poetry collections include Silver, Living Weapon, Heaven, and The Ground.

Maya C. Popa

North American Book Prize winner and poetry reviews editor at Publishers Weekly. Her newest collection will be released in July.

Declan Ryan

An Irish poet and critic living in London, his first collection, Crisis Actor, has been hailed on both sides of the Atlantic.

Emily Schulten

Poet Laureate of Key West, Fulbright U.S. Scholar in Literature and Creative Writing, and recipient of an Academy of American Poets Fellowship.

Patricia Smith

Winner of the National Book Award for Poetry for her newest book, The Intentions of Thunder.

Danez Smith

Thier poetry collections have been finalists for the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, NAACP Image Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award.

Emily Wilson

Classical studies professor at the University of Pennsylvania whose translation of the Odyssey, is the first English rendering of the poem by a woman.

Kevin Young

Poetry editor of the New Yorker, where he hosts the poetry podcast. He is the author of sixteen books of poetry and prose.