SWWIM: Allison Blevins, Carolina Hospital’s, et al.

An intimate poetry reading at The Betsy brings together visiting and Miami-based writers for an evening focused on contemporary women’s voices and literary exchange.

SWWIM: Allison Blevins, Carolina Hospital’s, Nicole Medina, Holly Iglesias takes place Thursday, February 12 at The Betsy on Miami Beach. Part of the ongoing SWWIM Reading Series in the Betsy Writer’s Room, the program pairs nationally recognized poets with South Florida literary figures in a small-scale setting designed for close listening and dialogue.

The evening features readings by Allison Blevins, whose work explores disability, queerness and lyric memoir, alongside Carolina Hospital’s, a longtime Miami writer known for poetry, fiction and collaborative projects rooted in place and cultural memory. They are joined by Cuban-American poet and educator Nicole Hospital-Medina, whose work engages activism, neurodivergence and interdisciplinary art, and Holly Iglesias, an award-winning poet and critic with a long career in both creative writing and teaching.

The SWWIM Reading Series runs from September 2025 through April 2026 and is presented with support from the Jorge M. Perez Family Foundation CreARTE. The event begins at 8 p.m. and continues the series’ focus on cross-generational conversation and women’s poetry in an intimate Miami Beach setting.