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About
Soda City
POETRY FESTIVAL
ONE RIVER, ONE BOAT: CELEBRATING SOUTH CAROLINA'S POETS
SODA CITY POETRY FESTIVAL IS A TWO DAY CELEBRATION OF POETRY
The Soda City Poetry Festival was founded and organized by Jennifer Bartell Boykin, the second Poet Laureate of the City of Columbia. The purpose of the festival is to spotlight the talent of Columbia poets while offering free programming to citizens in Columbia and surrounding areas. In 2024, it was a one day festival, and in 2025 it was a two day festival with the theme "One River, One Boat: Celebrating South Carolina's Poets." In 2026, the festival shifted to yearlong programming that featured poetry workshops. For more information, please email info@sodacitypoetry.org.
THE FOUNDER
Meet
Born and raised in Bluefield, South Carolina, Jennifer Bartell Boykin is the Poet Laureate of the City of Columbia. An alumna of Agnes Scott College with an MFA in Poetry from the University of South Carolina, Boykin has fellowships from Callaloo and The Watering Hole. She is a 2023 Academy of American Poets Poet Laureate Fellow.
Jennifer Bartell Boykin
FESTIVAL FOUNDER
City of Columbia Poet Laureate | Educator | School Librarian
2025 SPONSORS
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