Poetry Foundation
The Poetry Foundation is a United States literary society that seeks to promote poetry and lyricism in the wider culture. It was formed from Poetry magazine, which it continues to publish, with a 2003 gift of $200 million from philanthropist Ruth Lilly.[1]
This article is about the literary society. For the book publisher, see National Poetry Foundation.Founded
January 1, 2003
Independent literary organization
- Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Publication; conferences; library
Michelle Boone, President
Modern Poetry Association
Its mission, which was updated in 2022, is "to amplify poetry and celebrate poets by fostering spaces for all to create, experience, and share poetry."[2] In partial furtherance of this objective, the foundation runs a blog called Harriet.[3] Poets who have blogged at Harriet on behalf of The Poetry Foundation include Christian Bök, Stephanie Burt, Wanda Coleman, Kwame Dawes, Linh Dinh, Camille Dungy, Annie Finch, Forrest Gander, Rigoberto González, Cathy Park Hong, Bhanu Kapil, Ange Mlinko, Eileen Myles, Craig Santos Perez, A.E. Stallings, Edwin Torres, and Patricia Smith. In addition, the foundation provides several awards for poets and poetry. It also hosts free workshops, readings, exhibitions, and is home to a 30,000-volume poetry library.
The Poetry Foundation is a non-profit, charitable, 501(c)(3) organization.[4]
Programs[edit]
Grants[edit]
In 2022, the Poetry Foundation instituted a new grants program]with an initial commitment of $9 million over the first three years. The grants program is part of the Foundation's commitment to more robustly support the field of poetry and the literary arts in ways that are both more equitable and transparent.
Events[edit]
The Poetry Foundation hosts a schedule of poetry events that are open to the public, free of charge, and often available in-person and via livestream. Events include poetry readings, writing workshops artist collaborations, and exhibitions.
Library[edit]
The 30,000-volume library presents a wide selection of modern and contemporary poetry in English or translation. It includes original author works and rare volumes. It also includes representative samples of earlier eras, and includes a 3000-volume children's section. In addition to the reading room, there are listening booths for poet audio recordings and broadcasts related to poetry and interactive displays. It is open to the public Wednesday through Saturday.
Poetry Out Loud Competition[edit]
The Poetry Out Loud recitation competition was created in 2006 by the Poetry Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts to increase awareness of poetry through performance and competition. It engages high school students in public speaking and the literature and performance of poetry. Poetry Out Loud offers more than $105,000 in prizes and school stipends each year.
Awards[edit]
The foundation's awards seek to promote and bring recognition to poets and poetry. The Pegasus Awards are a series of awards to poets and poetic forms (the winged horse, Pegasus, was used to illustrate the early magazine covers, and is part of the foundation and magazine’s branding). They are generally given annually. The Young People's Poet Laureate (formerly the Children's Poet Laureate) is a two-year appointment to an author of children's poetry. The Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize is an annual award given for lifetime achievement in poetry to U.S. poets. The Pegasus Award for Poetry Criticism is an annual award that seeks to honor an outstanding book-length work of criticism published in the U.S. in the prior calendar year. The Pegasus Award for Service in Poetry, which was established in 2023, is bestowed in recognition of commitment and extraordinary work in poetry and the literary arts through administration, advocacy, education, publishing, or service. The Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowships are awarded to five aspiring U.S. poets to support study and writing. The Emily Dickinson First Book Award was an award that recognized an American poet, not under the age of 40, who had not yet published a poetry collection in book form; Kristen Tracy won the 2017 award, consisting of $10,000 and publication and promotion of her collection Half-Hazard by Graywolf Press.
Harriet Monroe Poetry Institute[edit]
The Harriet Monroe Poetry Institute provides an independent forum to convene discussions about poetry. Poets, scholars, educators and others are invited to share ideas about the intellectual and practical needs of the poetry form, and to generate solutions to benefit the art.