Poets House
Encyclopedia
Founded in 1985 by the late Stanley Kunitz
, two-time poet laureate of the United States, and arts administrator Elizabeth Kray, Poets House is a national literary center and poetry library based in New York City
. With more than 50,000 volumes of poetry, the library is the premier independent poetry library in the United States. It is free and open to the public.
The collection at Poets House contains virtually all poetry books published in the U.S. since 1990, plus many that are long out of print dating to the early 20th Century. It also contains literary journals and chapbooks (small, self-published books of poetry), and many audiotapes, videotapes, CDs, and DVDs of poetry readings from the mid-twentieth century through today. Visitors to Poets House can hear the voices of Walt Whitman
, E. E. Cummings
, William Carlos Williams
, Sylvia Plath
and hundreds of other poets.
Every year, Poets House hosts the Poets House Showcase, which gathers and displays every book of poetry published in the United States in the preceding year. Poets House also curates and presents hundreds of readings, lectures, panels, symposiums and performancs each year.
In 1996, the literary newspaper Poetry Flash
called Poets House "The House That Holds A Country," a reference to its dedication to being a caretaker of the nation's poetic heritage.
In 2005, it was among 406 New York City
arts and social service institutions to receive part of a $20 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation, which was made possible through a donation by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg
. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/06/nyregion/06donate.html?ex=1278302400&en=93a1beabd4ede5b8&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss http://carnegie.org/sub/news/anon2005.html
In 2009, Poets House moved from its longstanding location in SoHo to an eco-friendly "green" building at Ten River Terrace in Lower Manhattan's Battery Park City. With a long-term lease (until 2069) awarded by the Battery Park City Authority, Poets House has a permanent home for its collection.
This new home for Poets House, designed by Louise Braverman, Architect,http://www.louisebravermanarch.com is on two floors covering 11000 square feet (1,021.9 m²) with a large children's room, an exhibition space, a reading room and library, and a program hall that opens onto what will be an extension of Teardrop Park. With views of the Hudson River and the Statue of Liberty, the new Poets House is bordered by Nelson A Rockefeller Park and is in walking distance of numerous subway and bus lines as well as the Port Authority Ferry Terminal at the World Financial Center. A public grand opening of the new facility took place on September 25 and 26 of 2009.
"For nearly 25 years Poets House has been an anchor for poets and poetry lovers," noted Robin Pogrebin in the New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/25/books/25poetry.html
Poets House is free and open to the public. Library hours are Tuesday-Friday, 11am to 7pm, and Saturdays, 11am to 6pm. The Children's Room is open 11am to 3pm. For more information, contact Poets House at 212-431-7920 or www.poetshouse.org.
Stanley Kunitz
Stanley Jasspon Kunitz was an American poet. He was appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress twice, first in 1974 and then again in 2000.-Biography:...
, two-time poet laureate of the United States, and arts administrator Elizabeth Kray, Poets House is a national literary center and poetry library based in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. With more than 50,000 volumes of poetry, the library is the premier independent poetry library in the United States. It is free and open to the public.
The collection at Poets House contains virtually all poetry books published in the U.S. since 1990, plus many that are long out of print dating to the early 20th Century. It also contains literary journals and chapbooks (small, self-published books of poetry), and many audiotapes, videotapes, CDs, and DVDs of poetry readings from the mid-twentieth century through today. Visitors to Poets House can hear the voices of Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman
Walter "Walt" Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse...
, E. E. Cummings
E. E. Cummings
Edward Estlin Cummings , popularly known as E. E. Cummings, with the abbreviated form of his name often written by others in lowercase letters as e.e. cummings , was an American poet, painter, essayist, author, and playwright...
, William Carlos Williams
William Carlos Williams
William Carlos Williams was an American poet closely associated with modernism and Imagism. He was also a pediatrician and general practitioner of medicine, having graduated from the University of Pennsylvania...
, Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. Born in Massachusetts, she studied at Smith College and Newnham College, Cambridge before receiving acclaim as a professional poet and writer...
and hundreds of other poets.
Every year, Poets House hosts the Poets House Showcase, which gathers and displays every book of poetry published in the United States in the preceding year. Poets House also curates and presents hundreds of readings, lectures, panels, symposiums and performancs each year.
In 1996, the literary newspaper Poetry Flash
Poetry Flash
Poetry Flash is a literary magazine and website based in the San Francisco Bay Area; it has been called "an institution in the Bay Area's literary culture". It publishes literary reviews, poetry, interviews, and essays as well as an extensive calendar of literary activities on the west coast of...
called Poets House "The House That Holds A Country," a reference to its dedication to being a caretaker of the nation's poetic heritage.
In 2005, it was among 406 New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
arts and social service institutions to receive part of a $20 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation, which was made possible through a donation by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/06/nyregion/06donate.html?ex=1278302400&en=93a1beabd4ede5b8&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss http://carnegie.org/sub/news/anon2005.html
In 2009, Poets House moved from its longstanding location in SoHo to an eco-friendly "green" building at Ten River Terrace in Lower Manhattan's Battery Park City. With a long-term lease (until 2069) awarded by the Battery Park City Authority, Poets House has a permanent home for its collection.
This new home for Poets House, designed by Louise Braverman, Architect,http://www.louisebravermanarch.com is on two floors covering 11000 square feet (1,021.9 m²) with a large children's room, an exhibition space, a reading room and library, and a program hall that opens onto what will be an extension of Teardrop Park. With views of the Hudson River and the Statue of Liberty, the new Poets House is bordered by Nelson A Rockefeller Park and is in walking distance of numerous subway and bus lines as well as the Port Authority Ferry Terminal at the World Financial Center. A public grand opening of the new facility took place on September 25 and 26 of 2009.
"For nearly 25 years Poets House has been an anchor for poets and poetry lovers," noted Robin Pogrebin in the New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/25/books/25poetry.html
Poets House is free and open to the public. Library hours are Tuesday-Friday, 11am to 7pm, and Saturdays, 11am to 6pm. The Children's Room is open 11am to 3pm. For more information, contact Poets House at 212-431-7920 or www.poetshouse.org.