—
Josh Smith
Curator, The DC Arts Center’s Poetry Series
The
Poetry Series
Poetry alongside
criticism, scholarship & philosophy
I am grateful to join in The DC Arts Center’s long commitment to poetry with a series that aims to offer quality poetic work alongside criticism, scholarship, and philosophy.”
The
Poetry Series
Poetry alongside
criticism, scholarship & philosophy
“I am grateful to join in The DC Arts Center’s long commitment to poetry with a series that aims to offer quality poetic work alongside criticism, scholarship, and philosophy.”
—
Josh Smith
Curator, The DC Arts Center’s Poetry Series
A gathering space for poetry and critical thought, where language meets the moment.
About The DC Arts Center’s Poetry Series
The DC Arts Center’s Poetry Series launched in 2025 to present poetry in conversation with criticism, scholarship, and philosophy. Building on the legacy of earlier programs like the In Your Ear Series, this new initiative continues DCAC’s decades-long commitment to the literary arts by providing a platform for rigorous, boundary-pushing work. More than a reading series, it’s a space for ideas—for language that challenges, interrogates, and connects. In an era where poetry often lives in isolation, this series brings it back into dialogue and shared community.
Curated by poet Joshua Smith, the series is held monthly in DCAC’s black box theater, typically on a Sunday. Each hour-long event features two to three creative presentations and one critical/analytical presentation (philosophy, scholarship, history, or criticism). These readings and reflections bridge creative and critical practice and are followed by a happy hour at Roofers Union. Whether you're a longtime reader, creator, or simply poetry-curious, The DC Arts Center’s Poetry Series offers a thoughtful, welcoming entry point into the ongoing work of thinking through language together.
Sign of the Times
Curated by Eric Celarier
Featuring members of the 2024 Sparkplug Artists’ Collective
at The DC Arts Center
Mentwanb Easwaran,
Sparkplug Artists’ Collective 2024 Cohort
speaks on their piece.
Katie Macyshyn (Magician),
Sparkplug Artists’ Collective 2024 Cohort
speaks on their piece.
The Application Process
The DC Arts Center (DCAC) accepts proposals from interested candidates between May and October. Each year, approximately 10 artists are selected for the program.
Applications are evaluated following the submission deadline, and candidates who advance in the process will be asked to interview in November. Final decision outcomes will be communicated in December, and successful candidates will begin the onboarding process following the winter holidays. The program runs for one year, from January to December.
We accept applications from all artists working seriously in their field and do not discriminate on any basis.
Application Requirements
Artist Statement & Biography
Artist Resumé
Short Answer Questions
$25 application fee
waived for Artist Members
Program Cost
$250
waived for Artist Members
Gallery Quick Facts
The DC Arts Center has two newly renovated art galleries — The Main Gallery and the Nano Gallery.
The Main Gallery features full-size work of all mediums and is approximately 700 square feet.
The Nano Gallery features small format work that can be easily hung and is approximately 125 square feet.
Artists retain a 60% commission on all work sold. 70% for Artist Members!






Purchase Tickets
Seating is extremely limited. Admission is $10. Free for DCAC Artist Members.
April 27, 2025
Next At the Mic
Meet the voices shaping our next evening of poetry and thought
Joshua Weiner
Poet
Joshua Weiner is the author of three books of poetry, most recently, The Figure of a Man Being Swallowed by a Fish, and the editor of At the Barriers: On the Poetry of Thom Gunn (all from University of Chicago Press). Berlin Notebook, reporting about the refugee situation in Europe (Los Angeles Review of Books, 2016) and Everything I Do I Do Good: Trumpoems (Dispatches against the Poetry Wars, 2018) appeared as digital editions. His translation of Nelly Sachs’s Flight & Metamorphosis was published by Farrar Straus Giroux in 2022. His poems and essays have appeared in Best American Poetry, The New York Review of Books, The Nation, American Scholar, New Republic, Washington Post, Yale Review, American Poetry Review, and elsewhere. The recipient of Whiting, Rome Prize, and Guggenheim fellowships, he teaches at University of Maryland and lives in Washington D.C.
Micha Mattix
Critic
Micah Mattix is the poetry editor of First Things and the author of The Soul Is a Stranger in this World. His essays and criticism have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New Criterion, and many other publications.
David Yezzi
Poet
David Yezzi’s latest books are More Things in Heaven: New and Selected Poems (Measure Press) and Late Romance: Anthony Hecht—A Poet’s Life (St. Martin’s Press). He teaches in the Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins.
Alumni
2025