If there’s one artist who has spent a lifetime proving that punk rock and poetry are two sides of the same beat-up leather jacket, it’s Patti Smith. And this October, the godmother of punk is taking her verses to the biggest poetry party on the continent.

The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) have announced that the Dodge Poetry Festival — North America’s largest poetry festival — returns to downtown Newark from October 15–17, 2026, with Smith headlining a performance titled “Patti Smith: Songs and Stories.”

Since 1986, the biennial Dodge Poetry Festival has drawn more than 150,000 people over four decades, and in 2024 it was reimagined with a sharper focus on poetry as a performing art and a vehicle for social justice advocacy. Headquartered at NJPAC since 2010, the three-day event pairs poets with musicians, hosts free outdoor family programming, and runs writing workshops and professional development sessions for working writers.

Smith — the “punk poet laureate” whose 1975 debut album Horses kicked open doors for every poet who ever strapped on a Fender — fits the festival’s ethos like a hand in a fingerless glove. Her reading list at Dodge will slot alongside appearances from 2025-2026 U.S. Poet Laureate Arthur Sze, Pulitzer Prize winner Tyehimba Jess, best-selling poet and young-adult novelist Elizabeth Acevedo (The Poet X), and a Def Poetry Reunion featuring alumni of Russell Simmons’ groundbreaking HBO spoken-word series.

Also on the bill: special readings curated by Cave Canem (supporting poets of the African diaspora), Kundiman (Asian American creative writing), and CantoMundo (a national network for Latinx poets). Confirmed poets include MacArthur Fellow Terrance Hayes, Naomi Shihab Nye, Aja Monet, Danez Smith, Evie Shockley, Adrian Matejka, Anthony Cody, Marc Bamuthi Joseph and many more, with additional headliners to be announced in June.

Beyond the marquee performances, attendees can dig into Young Artists Day (drawing thousands of high schoolers from across the country), Fine-Tune Your Craft workshops presented in partnership with the Academy of American Poets, an open mic hosted by Newark’s EvoluCulture poetry collective, a FREE Family Fun Day transforming NJPAC’s Chambers Plaza into a poetry-infused play space, and Poetry Like Bread — a breakfast where readers break bread with nationally recognized poets. Newark’s own Source of Knowledge bookstore will also open a pop-up shop on-site.

“This festival, which has been showcasing powerful poetry since 1986, offers the best of both worlds: Poets laureate and Pulitzer Prize winners for the poetry aficionados, along with Family Fun Day and Young Artist Day for those who are dipping their toes into hearing poetry read live and aloud for the first time,” said David Rodriguez, NJPAC’s Executive Producer and Executive Vice President.

Ysabel Y. Gonzalez, Producer, Poetry and Social Impact, added that a selection committee reviewed work from nearly 200 emerging and mid-career artists in addition to the already-invited poets, with the full roster to be revealed in June.

Three-day passes go on sale June 2026; one-day passes follow in August 2026. Special ticketed events (hi, Patti) are sold separately. For updates, visit njpac.org/series/dodgepoetry.

Need a primer before you go? Revisit Patti Smith’s catalog on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0vFabeTqtOtj918sjc5vYo

See you in Newark.