The Katonah Poetry Series will host a gala event to celebrate fifty years of bringing the finest voices in contemporary poetry to northern Westchester. The public is invited to attend a reading with our all-star panel of poets, followed by a VIP cocktail reception. The panel features longtime KPS advisor and two-time US Poet Laureate Billy Collins, National Book Award winner Mark Doty, NY State Poet Laureate Marie Howe (2012-2014), and Pulitzer-Prize winning poet Vijay Seshadri. They will read their own poetry as well as that of other beloved KPS poets. Billy Collins will lead the panel in an exploration of contemporary poetry and where it might go next. A separately ticketed VIP cocktail reception will follow—in the company of the poets!--including gourmet hors d-oeuvres, libations and live jazz.  

Since 1967, the Katonah Poetry Series (www.katonahpoetry.com) has hosted nationally acclaimed poets at the Katonah Village Library. Past KPS poets include nine Poets Laureate of the United States, sixteen winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and eleven National Book Award Winners. KPS poets are exceptional for the excellence of their work, but also the excellence of their stage presence—charming audiences with poetry and commentary that beguiles, amuses and elucidates.