About this Event
Harlem Stage is proud to present The New York Black & African Literature Festival 2026, bringing together writers, poets, thinkers, artists and readers from across Africa and the global Black diaspora into conversation through readings, performances, talks, screenings, workshops and public gatherings.
Let the Poets Govern opens the festival with a performance, conversation and an opening night reception.
The evening will feature some of the most distinctive voices in contemporary poetry come together for a continuous performance shaped by language, rhythm, witness and collective possibility. The evening moves between poems, invocation and music, asking what poetry can offer at a moment when public language is increasingly flattened by speed, spectacle and political exhaustion.
Featuring:
- Patricia Smith
- Camonghne Felix
- Jasmine Mans
- Yaissa Jiménez
- Titilope Sonuga
- Yacouba Sissoko
The evening moves between poems, invocation and music, asking what poetry can offer at a moment when public language is increasingly flattened by speed, spectacle and political exhaustion.
Directions to Harlem Stage:
Harlem Stage | 150 Convent Avenue (corner of 135th Street), New York, NY
Trains: Take the 1 Train to 137th Street–City College.
Take the A, B, C or D Trains to 125th Street Transfer to the M100 or M101 bus going uptown to 135th Street, or walk north along St. Nicholas Avenue to 135th, then west to Convent.
Take the 4 or 5 Trains to 138th Street–Grand Concourse Walk or transfer via bus to Harlem Stage.
Parking: While street parking is limited, metered and free parking can sometimes be found nearby. There are also parking garages at: 160 Convent Avenue (City College garage, public availability varies) and 3333 Broadway Garage (between 133rd & 135th).
Click here for more directions on how to get to Harlem Stage.
Event venue & nearby stays
Harlem Stage Gatehouse, 150 Convent Avenue, New York, United States
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