U.S. poet laureate Arthur Sze
SFILF News:
SANTA FE — The Santa Fe International Literary Festival (SFILF) announced today the addition of U.S. poet laureate and longtime Santa Fe resident Arthur Sze to its star-studded 2026 Festival, taking place May 15-17, 2026.
Sze, whose laureateship was announced in September, joins Ada Limón, the first Latina U.S. poet laureate, Navajo Nation poet laureate Jake Skeets, Santa Fe poet laureate Tommy Archuleta, and other acclaimed poets in the Festival’s poetry programming. Other featured Festival authors include literary giants Isabel Wilkerson, Ocean Vuong, Judy Blume, and George Saunders.
Sze, the 25th U.S. poet laureate, has lived in Santa Fe since the 1970s. He became the city’s first poet laureate in 2006 and is professor emeritus at the Institute for American Indian Arts. His laureateship follows that of another poet with strong ties to the state, Joy Harjo, who held the honor in 2019–20.
Sze is the author of twelve books of poetry, including Into the Hush (2025), which was long-listed for the National Book Critics Circle Award in poetry and the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award; The White Orchard: Selected Interviews, Essays, and Poems (2025); and The Glass Constellation: New and Collected Poems (2021), which received a 2024 National Book Foundation Science + Literature prize. His poetry has been translated into fifteen languages, including Spanish, Chinese, Dutch, German, and Portuguese.
The Santa Fe International Literary Festival is an annual gathering of world-renowned authors, thinkers, and passionate readers. Additional 2026 Festival authors include Lauren Groff, James McBride, Carl Hiaasen, Alison Bechdel, Kiese Laymon, Priyanka Kumar, and Colm Tóibín. A full list of Festival authors is available on the Santa Fe International Literary Festival website.
The Festival celebrates the power of story in a city rich in natural beauty, cultural diversity, and literary tradition. The three-day event features big-stage presentations, intimate talks, curated excursions, and engagement with local students, teachers, and librarians. In all, more than thirty Festival events will take place over the weekend.
“We are thrilled that the Library of Congress has appointed another poet with ties to New Mexico, and honored beyond measure to share space with Arthur Sze in May,” said Megan Mulry, executive director of the Festival. “Now more than ever, it’s essential that all authors be heard and that readers be invited to listen and exchange ideas.”
For more information about the Santa Fe International Literary Festival, visit sfilf.org.
About the Santa Fe International Literary Festival
The 2026 Santa Fe International Literary Festival, taking place May 15–17, 2026, brings together world-renowned authors, thinkers, and readers to celebrate the power of story in a city known for its beauty, history, and artistic inspiration. The Festival believes in the power of story as an invitation to learn about ourselves and others—and to create extraordinary change. Each year we celebrate the deep literary history of Santa Fe and New Mexico and our diverse community of writers, creating opportunities to foster a love of storytelling, both during the Festival and beyond. The Santa Fe International Literary Festival is a tax-exempt organization as described in Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code.