During spring in Miami, poetry is nearly unavoidable.
“Poetry is a kind of unkillable human art form,” said Campbell McGrath, a local celebrated poet and teacher.
That is especially true during National Poetry Month in Miami-Dade County, when the city subtly reorganizes itself around artful expression in several languages.
(Elizabeth Lichtenstein)
Campbell McGrath, award-winning poet
Through the O, Miami Poetry Festival, hundreds of events unfold across neighborhoods, placing poetry into circulation: on buses, in libraries, at bookstores, in classrooms, and across public space. The premise is deceptively simple — ensure that every resident encounters a poem — but the effect is expansive. Poetry becomes a mango-scented atmosphere, flourishing throughout the area.
This year, that atmosphere converges around a focal point: the April 15 premiere of “Poetry City,” directed by Aaron Glickman, and screening at the Miami Film Festival at Miami’s Koubek Center. Described as a cinematic love letter to Miami’s literary soul, the film documents a culture already in motion.
(Logan Fazio)
Aaron Glickman, Director, Poetry City
A SCENE OFTEN MISREAD
Miami’s cultural identity remains heavily visual, defined by skyline, coastline, and spectacle. What is less consistently recognized is the depth of its literary activity.
“People have a kind of idea of Miami as not a poetry city, right?” said Nicole Tallman, who helped establish Miami-Dade County’s first Poet Laureate program and is the local poetry ambassador. “We don’t really look at it as a hotbed of intellectual capital, which I really do think we have.”
Tallman occupies a rare position — bridging civic infrastructure and literary culture.
“I think it’s always been here, it’s just that certain people have taken an interest in elevating it and focusing their lens on it,” she said.
And through figures like Tallman, poetry is now acknowledged within the civic framework, giving the form a kind of official poetic license.
(Jackie Taylor)
Nicole Tallman, poetry ambassador for Miami-Dade County.
A CULTURE BUILT IN MOTION
Miami’s poetry scene does not trace a single lineage. It emerges from the convergence of migration, language, and exchange across the Caribbean and Latin America, where poetry often carries strong cultural significance, as well as the United States urban epicenters where the beats first emerged.
“Miami is this fantastically rich stew of people,” said McGrath. “We don’t just have a North American stream of artists here. We have the Caribbean and Latin America, and that makes the poetry more lively and diverse.”
This convergence reshapes not just who is writing, but how poetry functions. It moves between languages — English, Spanish, Haitian Creole — and between forms, from traditional text to spoken word to performance. And crucially, it grows from the ground up.
“It’s not really about institutions,” said McGrath. “It’s this huge amount of grassroots energy.”
WHERE POETRY LIVES
That energy is sustained by a network that bridges informal practice and institutional continuity.
Readings at known poetry hubs like Books & Books in Coral Gables remain foundational. The Miami Book Fair continues to draw hundreds of authors and thousands of attendees each year. And organizations like O, Miami extend poetry into daily life.
“O, Miami has really helped elevate poets and poetry in the city and help us move towards being more recognized as a city for the literary arts,” Tallman said.
During April, that reach intensifies, creating a layered ecosystem where poetry is encountered repeatedly, in different forms and contexts.
“I think that has been a way that’s helped to bring people in, because it’s short form and I think everyone, despite their age, is able to do it,” said Tallman.
THE NEXT GENERATION
Poetry’s persistence depends on continuity, and in Miami, that continuity is actively cultivated.
“We teach it because kids are interested,” said McGrath. “They like it, and it carries on.”
From classrooms to workshops, poetry is introduced not as distant literature, but as something immediate, something to use. That accessibility ensures a steady influx of new voices, keeping the scene open, responsive, and evolving.
POETRY AS LIVED EXPERIENCE
What distinguishes Miami is not simply the presence of poetry, but its mode of existence. Here, poetry is not confined to the page. It is spoken, performed, exchanged, and often created in real time, existing in public encounters where the boundary between artist and audience dissolves.
“Poetry is a way of connecting people.” Tallman said. “Once you’ve written a book, that book becomes a conversation piece forever.”
The understanding of poetry as dialogue rather than artifact runs through the community and directly into the film.
FILM AS CONNECTOR
The documentary “Poetry City” is inspired by one of the local beloved and increasingly popular public poets, Oscar Fuentes.
(Poetry City)
Poetry City Poster
(Alec Jerome Kreisberg)
Oscar The Biscayne Poet
Fuentes presents poetry outside the traditional formats. He creates poems on the spot. He takes his typewriter to the streets and to the beach and types out his poems by request at public gatherings.
“He has a performative aspect to his poetry writing,” said Glickman. “People keep these poems forever.”
Such immediacy is why Fuentes has made such an impact amongst his expanding fan base. And it's what inspired Glickman to make “Poetry City.” The film depicts Fuentes in action with his typewriter at various gatherings, in lush, tropical settings: at Vizcaya, at the beach, interacting with many, both the public and poetry community members.
(Manny Hernandez, Social Miami)
Oscar Fuentes, The Biscayne poet; Nicole Tallman, poet, poetry ambassador, Miami Dade County; Caridad Moro-Gronlier, Miami Dade County poetry laureate, poet; trey rhone, poet; Arsimmer McCoy; poet; Marci Cancio Bello
“Working with poetry in a feature film, you need to figure out a way to give it action that keeps people engaged,” said Glickman.
That challenge shaped the film’s evolution.
“It took on a life of its own.” said Glickman. “It became this community-oriented film that was bigger than any single individual.”
From Fuentes, “Poetry City” expands outward, tracing a broader ecosystem where poetry is not just written, but lived.
REBALANCING THE CULTURAL NARRATIVE
“Miami is a city that has grown significantly over the last 20 to 30 years because of arts and culture,” said Glickman. “The visual arts get a lot of attention, whereas maybe the literary arts and poetry don’t get the same kind of attention.”
The film does not argue against that imbalance, it reveals what has been happening alongside it.
“I would love for Miami to be recognized at the same level as like a New York or Chicago for our literary capital,” said Tallman. “I think slowly we’re making inroads towards getting elevated in that way,”
Recognition is cumulative. It builds through festivals, public programming, education, and now, film.
“Miami has a soul that may be overshadowed by a lot of the other things that are going on,” Glickman said. “Hopefully it brings more awareness to that scene, not just in Miami but elsewhere.”
What emerges across April, through National Poetry Month and the premiere of “Poetry City,” is not a new narrative, but one that continuously builds momentum, where artistic literacy is more than celebrated. It is embedded in the city’s daily life and thought.
IF YOU GO
“Poetry City” world premiere at the Miami Film Festival
Wed., April 15
Koubek Center, 2705 SW 3 St., Miami