Poet Diamond: Inside The Fourth National Baseball Poetry Festival
by Calvin Shaw, March 15, 2026
This year marks the fourth year the National Baseball Poetry Festival will take place at Polar Park in Worcester, Massachusetts, home of the Boston Red Sox Triple-A affiliate, the Worcester Red Sox, commonly known as the WooSox to its local fanbase. This ballpark, which opened in 2021, will host this exciting, unique event from May 7th to May 10th, bringing together poetry and baseball fans for a festival.
Poets In The Dugout
The National Baseball Poetry Festival allows youth and adult writers to submit poetry that focuses on softball and baseball themes throughout their poetry. Focusing on opening day, heartbreak, triumphs, ballpark food, and so many other themes that surround America’s Pastime.
Poetry submissions are also welcome from international writers who have a love for the game of baseball and want to share their experience with the sport. As a poet myself, I appreciate reading poetry from a diverse list of poets to enhance my own craft.
Worcester native and author Ernest Thayer is best known for the poem “Casey at the Bat” a poem that tells the reader a tale of being overconfident and disappointment that comes with fandom during the last inning of a baseball game, which are themes that still surround sports today, which makes this 1888 a work of literary history and the reason for introducing this baseball poetry festival.
The National Baseball Poetry Festival includes 2 WooSox games, a musical feature, a panel discussion, a Poet-to-Poet Reading, workshops, open mics, and even time to play catch, along with many activities! You can find the schedule of events at this link.
