Remembering Hal Sirowitz

Sunday May 3, 2026 – LIVE at Fergie’s Pub AND Virtual

Hal Sirowitz (March 6, 1949- October 17, 2025) was an American and internationally known poet, who first began to attract attention at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe where he was a frequent competitor in their Friday Night Poetry Slam. He eventually made the 1993 Nuyorican Poetry Slam team and competed in the 1993 National Poetry Slam along with his Nuyorican teammates Maggie Estep, Tracie Morris, and Regie Cabico.

He would later perform his poetry on stages across the country, and on television programs such as MTV’s Spoken Word: Unplugged and PBS’s The United States of Poetry. He wrote five books of poetry: Mother Said, My Therapist Said, Father Said, During and After, and Stray Cat Blues. He was the best-selling translated poet in Norway, where Mother Said has been adapted for the stage and turned into a series of animated cartoons. He has been translated into thirteen languages.

Sirowitz was a 1994 recipient of an NEA Fellowship in Poetry and was the Poet Laureate of Queens. He worked as a special education teacher in the New York public school system for 23 years and was married to the writer Minter Krotzer, who will be attending.

Tom Devaney and Jeff Lee as Hosts

Purchase the anthology featuring over 30 poets honoring Hal and his legacy. 

Register Here for Virtual