O, Miami builds community through literature.
We produce a poetry festival, a publishing imprint, an educational program, a podcast, and other initiatives that expand access to literature in Miami and re-think the role of the literary arts in society.
O, Miami values inclusiveness and strives to create an environment where everyone’s voice is heard and everyone’s statements are met with respect. We value diversity across a spectrum of identities, including but not limited to race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, socioeconomic status, religion and ability. We recognize access to information as a basic human right.
We are proudly funded by the John S. and James L. Foundation and based at The Betsy Hotel on Miami Beach.
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Our largest event is our annual poetry festival, also named “O, Miami.” The mission of the festival is for every single person in Miami-Dade County to encounter a poem during the month of April. Since its founding in 2011, the festival has hosted performances by Anne Carson, Raúl Zurita, W.S. Merwin, Patti Smith, Richard Blanco, Tracy K. Smith, Thurston Moore, Kevin Young, and many others. For general information, visit our O, Miami festival page. Upcoming festival events will always be updated on our events page.
O, Miami Education is an educational program that places poets in schools, detention centers, and other communities where high-quality poetry instructions is not guaranteed. All classes are free to participants. For more, visit The Sunroom page.
O, Miami Books is a regional imprint that seeks to create a literary publishing voice for Miami. Jai-Alai (pronounced "Hi-Li") publishes, on average, three titles per year in a variety of genres, including an annual chapbook prize conducted in partnership with Cave Canem Foundation. (The press is an outgrowth of an older project called “Jai-Alai Magazine” - jaialaimag.org.) For more information about Jai-Alai Books, including submission guidelines, visit the website.
The Luis Angel Hernandez Florida Prison Poet Laureate is an honorary position awarded by Exchange for Change and O, Miami Poetry Festival. The laureateship designates one poet currently incarcerated in the state of Florida to serve a term of one or two years, with the mission of increasing visibility of Florida’s prison population; promoting rehabilitation through the arts; and asserting the basic humanity of all living beings.
Our first podcast, “Now That We’re Friends,” is an advice show hosted by three poets. For more, visit our page.
The U-WYN Visiting Poet Series – a partnership with The Writer’s Room at The Betsy-South Beach – has been operating continually since 2009. As part of the residency, each visiting writer gives a public reading in addition to a workshop or outreach program with a Miami school or community organization. To see a list of the writers we’ve brought, go here.
We collaborate widely with other local organizations, as well as with national organizations who share our commitment to contemporary literature. Previous and current collaborators include: Poetry Foundation, Poetry Society of America, Pen Center USA, The Miami Herald, Pérez Art Museum of Miami, New World Center and the New World Symphony, Miami-Dade Public Libraries, Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Miami's Design District, The Wolfsonian-FIU, The Betsy-South Beach, Lotus House, Overtown Youth Center, Locust Projects, Sweat Records, Miami New Times, Center for Literarture and Theater at MDC, Gallery Diet, Books and Books, Miami Poetry Collective, Fountainhead Residency, Bas Fisher Invitational, and Borscht Film Festival, among others.
O, Miami's legal name is O, Miami, inc., a 501c3 non-profit corporation in the State of Florida. Our offices are inside The Betsy Hotel. Our mailing address is 9825 NE 2nd Ave, #530249, Miami Shores, FL 33153.
Auxiliary Aids & Services
O, Miami is committed to ensuring that participants can readily access the services we provide, both in our in-person programs and on our website. Please note that our website may link to, or interface with, third party websites that we do not control. These third-party vendors may not comply with accessibility standards.
O, Miami will upon request, provide appropriate aids and services leading to effective communication for persons with disabilities so they can participate equally in O, Miami programs and activities. Accommodations may include: interpreters, documents in Braille, and other ways of making information and communications accessible to people who have speech, hearing, or vision impairments.
Please notify O, Miami no later 4 days prior to a scheduled event if you require any of these services:
ASL interpreters (necessary language upon request)
Video Relay Interpreting (VRI)
Assisted listening devices
Any other disability accommodation
To arrange for assistance, please contact the Managing Director at melody@omiami.org
TTY users may also call 711 or 1-800-955-8771 Florida Relay Service.
As the law and accessibility standards continue to change and we strive to deliver the most up-to-date accommodations, please understand that our efforts to improve online and in-person accessibility are ongoing.
