O, Miami
Arts & Culture
Formerly known as University of Wynwood, O Miami has been crafting innovative literary experiences since its inception in 2008. The Miami non-profit is dedicated to building community through literature via engaging, one-of-a-kind initiatives that include a poetry festival, O Miami Books publishing imprint, an educational program, a podcast, an artist residency at The Betsy and a host of other programs that foster access to literature. O Miami also collaborates with local and national organizations that share its vision. Past and present partnerships include Poetry Foundation, Poetry Society of America, Pen Center USA, The Miami Herald, Pérez Art Museum of Miami, New World Center and the New World Symphony, Miami-Dade Public Libraries, Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Miami's Design District, The Wolfsonian-FIU, The Betsy-South Beach, among others.
Every April 1st, O Miami’s largest annual event, O, Miami Poetry Festival, begins its month long campaign to expose every resident of Miami-Dade County to at least one poem. In the past, the festival has brought poetry to the public eye by uniquely innovative means that include pasting poems in public bathrooms, Miami-themed poetry contests hosted by radio stations, airplanes trailing banners with poems, to name a few. The festival’s program also features readings, lectures and performances that have hosted cultural luminaries like Anne Carson, Patti Smith, Thurston Moore, Raul Zurita, and many more.