Brookline poetry series taps Pulitzer winner for fall lineup

The Public Library of Brookline is bringing a Pulitzer Prize-winning critic, a National Book Award longlisted author and multiple Guggenheim fellows to Hunneman Hall this fall as part of one of the most decorated lineups in the Brookline Poetry Series' 25-year history.

The library announced four free readings running September through December on its website Saturday, kicking off Sept. 20 with Robin Becker and Lloyd Schwartz.

Schwartz, whom the library describes as the poet laureate of Somerville, won the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism and received a 2019 Guggenheim Fellowship in Poetry. He is a regular commentator on NPR's Fresh Air and a contributing arts critic for WBUR's the ARTery. His two new 2026 collections are He Tells His Mother What He's Working On (Grolier Poetry Press) and a longer title from Arrowsmith. He'll read alongside Becker, a liberal arts research professor emerita at Pennsylvania State University and author of eight poetry collections including the Lambda Award-winning All-American Girl.

The Oct. 11 reading pairs Oliver de la Paz with Jonathan Aibel. De la Paz, who was appointed Poet Laureate of Worcester in 2023, saw his collection The Diaspora Sonnets longlisted for the National Book Award and win the 2023 New England Book Award. He teaches at the College of the Holy Cross. Aibel, a Concord-based poet and self-described "recovering software engineer," will present work from his first full-length collection, The Porcelain World.

On Nov. 15, Alan Shapiro and Jason Sommer take the stage. Shapiro has published 14 poetry collections, with Reel to Reel a Pulitzer Prize finalist and Night of the Republic a finalist for both the National Book Award and the International Griffin Prize. His newest book, Diver, came out in April from Unbound Edition Press. Sommer, a former Stegner Fellow at Stanford and Whiting Foundation Writers' Award winner, is the author of six poetry collections.

The series closes Dec. 13 with Daisy Fried and Kazim Ali in the only virtual event of the season. Fried, a Guggenheim and Pew fellow, has a new collection, My Destination, due out in October. Ali, a professor of literature at UC San Diego, published The Man in 119 with Copper Canyon Press earlier this year.

All events are free.

All in-person readings take place in Hunneman Hall at the Brookline Village Library, 361 Washington St. Specific event times were not listed in the announcement; residents can check brooklinelibrary.org for full details as each reading approaches.

The series has run since 2001, bringing nationally recognized poets to Brookline at no cost to residents. The library describes it as "a quality venue for the best contemporary voices in American poetry" and "a series particularly dedicated to featuring the work of Brookline and Boston area poets."

Fall 2026 Brookline Poetry Series schedule: