Celebrating the Power of Poetry

Poetry is in the air at the Nossrat Yassini Poetry Festival — both literally and, well, poetically.

The festival took over Hamilton Smith Hall for its second year in April, and the building reverberated with the sounds of poets celebrating all varieties of verse. Snatches of poetry drifted out of classrooms and lecture halls where poets gathered for readings, workshops, panel discussions, and poetry slams. The clatter of typewriter keys echoed through the atrium as writers created “poetry on demand,” using suggestions from attendees — an emotion, an image, a place — and antique typewriters as inspiration. And over it all was the hum of conversation as poets of all types gathered to celebrate their art.

“Poetry is a small way of changing the world,” said Danielle Jones, the festival director. “It’s about connecting individuals on a one-to-one basis, about remembering all the ways we’re alike, all the hopes and dreams we share.”

For Jones and many of the participating poets, poetry is about building and fostering community. At the festival, veteran slam poets, Pulitzer Prize winners, and new writers “are all hanging out and having a good time and sharing their creative work,” Jones said. “Because the festival is free, we can open it up to everybody and have many people and voices represented.”

The festival was established in 2024 through a $2 million gift from the YAS Foundation. The foundation was created by Rouzbeh Yassini-Fard, executive director of the UNH Broadband Center of Excellence, and an entrepreneur and philanthropist. The gift was in honor of Yassini-Fard’s mother, Nossrat Yassini, who loved to read and write poetry. “The power of poetry is strong, and it can link cultures and communities,” Yassini-Fard said. “This festival can serve as a place to reward our current and future poets and writers.”

Sessions covered all facets of poetry, from workshops about the use of language and sound in verse or using techniques from fiction in poetry to discussions on creating performance spaces and events and augmenting poetry with music, animation, and art. UNH faculty and poets from across the region read their work while a band outside the building celebrated the life and work of singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson.

“I think the vulnerability of the artform and the closeness of emotion is what connects people,” said Myles Taylor, president of Boston Poetry Slam, Inc. He led a workshop on organizing poetry events and building community. Spaces where poetry can be performed and heard are vital, according to Taylor.

“Those are balanced spaces … where you can talk about what’s happening in the world and be upset and share your feelings, but also be with others and heal with those people. Healing through community is one of the most important ways to exist through hardship,” they said. (assuming this is Myles Taylor’s correct pronoun, but just want to make sure so flagging for you)

For some poets, that sense of community transcends geographic boundaries. In one session, poet Jennifer Jean presented the “correspondence in poetry” she conducted with Iraqi poet Hanaa Ahmad as part of their book, “Where Do You Live?” The two women wrote poems and letters to each other, forging a friendship and creative collaboration around the question “Where do you live?”

According to Jones, the festival is a natural addition to UNH’s strong literary history. Charles Simic taught generations of poets during his years at UNH, while Nossrat Yassini Poet in Residence Diannely Antigua and current faculty members like David Blair and Shelley Girdner continue that tradition. The festival also publishes three books each year: two anthologies of youth poetry and one book by an emerging or established New Hampshire poet.

“Having a festival that is creating a time and space for people to connect through poetry, but is also sustaining artists — I love that,” Jones said.

Underneath it all was a sense of joy. A flash poetry competition, hosted by the Manchester-based slam poetry group Slam Free or Die, featured eight poets competing against each other. The catch: they had to write poems on the spot based on whatever word came up on a spinning wheel, with the audience casting votes for their favorite poems. Prompts ranged from words like “lettuce” and “captain” to more abstract images and concepts, like “prismatic” and “sondor” — the idea that each person sees themselves as the main character in their own story.

The “radical vulnerability” that comes with sharing poetry naturally brings people together, said Zee Stewart, a slam poet and emcee for the competition. “It’s the tenderness and love we share with each other when we connect.”

For the latest UNH poetry news, visit unhpoetry.com.