Poetry in the Garden: Danez Smith and Mahogany L. Browne

Voices from Marginalized America - Black Voices

July 28, 2025 · 7 p.m.

Walled Garden

Free

Commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence with Poetry in the Garden’s fifth season. Each Monday evening in July, nationally acclaimed poets will share works that explore how historically oppressed communities have been denied the Declaration of Independence’s promised “inalienable rights.”

On July 28, Poetry in the Garden: Voices from Marginalized America is proud to host two poets whose work stands defiant of racism, both historic and reawakened: Danez Smith —a National Book Award winner—and Mahogany L. Browne, poet-in-residence at Lincoln Center. A commissioned musical arrangement of “Declaration,” a poem by U.S. Poet Laureate Emerita Tracy K. Smith, will also be performed by composer Andrew Levine, vocalist Kimberly Wilson, and others. A book signing will follow.

Free for all! Bring a lawn chair or blanket to enjoy the readings, held in KTM&HC’s beautiful walled garden. In the event of inclement weather, the reading will move inside the Garden House. Ample parking on-site.

Poetry in the Garden 2025 is generously supported by Ridgefield Library, Books on the Common, The Fountain Inn, A.C.T. of Connecticut, and the Manhattanville University MFA in Creative Writing.