Penn State Altoona English professor featured in international poetry festival

ALTOONA, Pa. - Patricia Jabbeh Wesley, professor of English at Penn State Altoona, will be featured in the 55th annual Poetry International Festival in the Netherlands. The event will take place June 12 through 15, 2025, at three festival venues, including LantarenVenster, Verhalenhuis "House of stories" Belvédère and Theater Zuidplein.

The festival is dedicated to the Poetry Summit: a multi-day event with poet laureates and other global representatives. The festival focuses on the question, "what does the global poetic landscape currently look like, and how can we help shape the future of poetry?" Jabbeh Wesley will join poet laureates and others to engage with themes around the global poetic landscape through readings, talks, panels, and dialogues. Her poetry is being translated into Dutch for the event.

Over the past 55 years, Poetry International has hosted such distinguished poets as Margaret Atwood, Anne Carson, Seamus Heaney, Octavio Paz, Carolyne Forché, and Allen Ginsberg.