The West End Poetry Festival is sponsored by the Town of Carrboro and is planned by the Carrboro Poets Council with the assistance of Carrboro’s Recreation, Parks, & Cultural Resources Department and the support of the Carrboro Arts Committee and the Carrboro Tourism Development Authority.

Carrboro held its first poetry festival, organized by then Carrboro Poet Laureate Patrick Herron, in 2006.

Since 2006, many poets from North Carolina and beyond have participated. Participants have included finalists for the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize; winners of the Kingsley Tufts Award, the Los Angeles Book Prize, the Oregon Book Award, and the Pushcart Prize; recipients of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, and many other honors.

Participants have also included poets at the beginning of their writing journeys. The festival aims to be broadly representative of poets and poetry and to be inclusive of all people interested in poetry, poetic expression, and in being a part of a poetry community.

The West End Poetry Festival does not tolerate any discrimination based on race, cultural identity, language spoken, country of origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, ability, class, or level of education. We strive to include many different voices and to uplift all people through poetry and coming together in the community to share, listen, participate, read, write, and have fun!