Poets House: Where Poetry Resides

Poets House was founded in 1985 by Stanley Kunitz and Elizabeth Kray. What is Poets House? It is a national poetry library and literary center built around the living tradition of poetry and is open to poets and the public everywhere. Its mission is to document the wealth and diversity of modern poetry and stimulate public dialogue on issues of poetry in the ever-changing, variable context of culture.

Poets House contains a collection of over 50,000 volumes of poetry-including books, journals, chapbooks, audio and video tapes, and digital media. It is one of the largest, most comprehensive, and most openly accessible of such collections in the U.S.

Over the years it has been located in various places. From 1990 to 2007, it was in an intimate loft at 72 Spring Street in Soho, New York City, but rising costs of rent made it necessary to relocate. As just the right time the Battery Park City Authority granted Poets House the designation as a rent-free tenant in a new building on the Hudson River. In 2009, the Poets House moved to a permanent home at 10 River Terrace in Battery Park City.

Some of the events and programs offered there include panels, lectures, readings, writing workshops and walking tours in New York City and nationwide. All of these place the voices of poets living today within the context of a vast literary tradition. These allow masters of the art of poetry as well as beginners to meet and learn from each other. Poets House also sponsors a wide array of readings in public parks and libraries to find a larger audience for the art and create greater exposure of individual poets. Once a year, the House holds its Poets House Showcase which gathers and exhibits many new books published or aquired during that year. Usually, thousands of books are shown each year from publishers across the country. These books are then recorded in the Directory of American Poetry Books, which continues to be the premiere bibliographic reference available for poetry. Poetry In The Branches develops audiences in local communities by providing poetry services in local libraries. This program was launched nationwide through the Poetry In The Branches National Institute and provides on-site training, consultation, and full service programs for libraries who wish to take part.

Poets house is largely supported by donations. More information can be found at their official website at poetshouse.org/.