Kate Kearns (Poetry, June 2008), Mike Bove and David Stankiewicz are shaking up the usual poetry reading format.

Why? Because at a normal reading, there’s surprise and discovery for the audience, but there’s none for the poet. In a poet swap, the poet gets to see their own work in a new and likely uncomfortable way, and the audience gets the added bonus of watching them squirm.

What’s a poet swap? It’s like a body swap for a body of work. A trust fall. A torture wheel. Instead of presenting their own writing, each reader will present one of the other poets’ work, which they’ve had time to read and prepare.

At this event, Kate Kearns will present Mike Bove’s poetry, Mike will present David’s, and David will present Kate’s. The poet whose work is being read has no idea what poems the reader has chosen, what order they’re in, or what context will come with them. The only rule is all poems must be read word for word, true to the original.

Kate Kearns is the author of You Are Ruining My Loneliness (Littoral Books, 2023) and How to Love an Introvert (Finishing Line Press, 2015). Kate’s work has appeared in Rustica, the Maine Sunday Telegram, Salamander, Peregrine, Sugar House Review and elsewhere. Kate was a finalist for the Charles Simic Memorial Prize and the 2024 Maine Postmark Competition. She earned her MFA from Lesley University. Learn more at www.katekearns.com.

Mike Bove is a prize-winning author of four books of poetry. His poems have appeared in Rattle, Southern Humanities Review, Tar River Poetry, Rust & Moth, and many others. He served as a 2024 Writer-in-Residence at Acadia National Park and is Associate Editor for Hole in the Head Review. Mike lives with his family in Portland, Maine where he was born and raised. www.mikebove.com

David Stankiewicz is the author of two poetry books: Night Garden (Deerbrook Editions 2024) and My First Beatrice (Moon Pie Press 2013). A graduate of the Stonecoast MFA program, David is a professor of English at Southern Maine Community College. He lives in Cape Elizabeth with his family.