Poets House

Last updated
Poets House
Formation1985;39 years ago (1985)
TypePoetry library
Legal statusPublic
Location
Website www.poetshouse.org
10 River Terrace (2010) Poets House 10 River Terrace Battery Park City.jpg
10 River Terrace (2010)

Poets House is a national literary center and poetry library based in New York City, United States. It contains more than 80,000 volumes of poetry, and is free and open to the public. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, they temporarily suspended operations in November 2020.

Contents

History

Poets House was founded in 1985 by the late Stanley Kunitz, [1] two-time poet laureate of the United States, and arts administrator Elizabeth Kray.[ citation needed ] With holdings of more than 80,000 volumes, [2] 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.[ citation needed ] It also contains literary journals and chapbooks (small 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.[ citation needed ]

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. [3]

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.[ citation needed ]

In November 2020, Poets House announced it was suspending operations as a result of the economic impact of COVID-19. [4] In 2021, the building was damaged by a flood, although the library was intact. [5] It reopened in January 2024. [6] [2]

Building

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. The move was facilitated via long-term lease awarded by the Battery Park City Authority. [1] [7]

The space's interiors were designed by architect Louise Braverman, and is on two floors covering 11,000 square feet (1,000 m2) that opens onto an extension of Teardrop Park. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Cullen Bryant</span> American writer and journalist

William Cullen Bryant was an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the New York Evening Post. Born in Massachusetts, he started his career as a lawyer but showed an interest in poetry early in his life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City Lights Bookstore</span> Bookstore and publisher in San Francisco

City Lights is an independent bookstore-publisher combination in San Francisco, California, that specializes in world literature, the arts, and progressive politics. It also houses the nonprofit City Lights Foundation, which publishes selected titles related to San Francisco culture. It was founded in 1953 by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Peter D. Martin. Both the store and the publishers became widely known following the obscenity trial of Ferlinghetti for publishing Allen Ginsberg's influential collection Howl and Other Poems. Nancy Peters started working there in 1971 and retired as executive director in 2007. In 2001, City Lights was made an official historic landmark. City Lights is located at 261 Columbus Avenue. While formally located in Chinatown, it self-identifies as part of immediately adjacent North Beach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tribeca</span> Neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City

Tribeca, originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street". The "triangle" is bounded by Canal Street, West Street, Broadway, and Chambers Street. By the 2010s, a common marketing tactic was to extend Tribeca's southern boundary to either Vesey or Murray Streets to increase the appeal of property listings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lower Manhattan Development Corporation</span> American organization (2001-present)

The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation was formed in November 2001, following the September 11 attacks, to plan the reconstruction of Lower Manhattan and distribute nearly $10 billion in federal funds aimed at rebuilding downtown Manhattan. It is a subsidiary of the Empire State Development Corporation, which is a New York state public-benefit corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Mountain poets</span>

The Black Mountain poets, sometimes called projectivist poets, were a group of mid-20th-century American avant-garde or postmodern poets centered on Black Mountain College in North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dana Gioia</span> American poet and writer

Michael Dana Gioia is an American poet, literary critic, literary translator, and essayist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Literary magazine</span> Periodical devoted to literature

A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry, and essays, along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letters. Literary magazines are often called literary journals, or little magazines, terms intended to contrast them with larger, commercial magazines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edmund Clarence Stedman</span> American poet (1833–1908)

Edmund Clarence Stedman was an American poet, critic, essayist, banker, and scientist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emanuel Xavier</span> American poet

Emanuel Xavier, is an American poet, spoken word artist, author, editor, and LGBTQ activist born and raised in the Bushwick area of Brooklyn. Associated with the East Village, Manhattan arts scene in New York City, he emerged from the ball culture scene to become one of the first openly gay poets from the Nuyorican movement as a successful writer and advocate for gay youth programs and Latino gay literature.

Poetry.com is a domain name that has historically been used for poetry-sharing in various forms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">N. Scott Momaday</span> Native American author and academic (1934–2024)

Navarre Scotte Momaday was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. His novel House Made of Dawn was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1969, and is considered the first major work of the Native American Renaissance.

Michael Simms is an American poet, novelist and literary publisher. His satiric novel Bicycles of the Gods: A Divine Comedy and his YA speculative fiction trilogy The Green Mage, Windkeep and The Blessed Isle were published by Madville Publishing, and his most recent poetry collections are American Ash (2020), Nightjar (2021) and Strange Meadowlark (2023) published by Ragged Sky Press. His poems and essays have been published in journals and magazines including Scientific American, Poetry Magazine, Black Warrior Review, Mid-American Review, Pittsburgh Quarterly, Southwest Review, Plume and West Branch. His poems have also appeared in Poem-a-Day published by the Academy of American Poets and been read by Garrison Keillor on the nationally syndicated radio show The Writer's Almanac. Simms's poems have been translated into Spanish, Russian and Arabic. In 2011, the Pennsylvania Legislature awarded Simms a Certificate of Recognition for his service to the arts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Queensland Press</span> Australian publishing house

University of Queensland Press (UQP) is an Australian publishing house based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in 1948 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the University of Queensland and a traditional university press, UQP now publishes books for general readers across fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, and includes works for children and young adults.

The Tribeca Trib is a monthly newspaper and website covering Lower Manhattan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Battery (Manhattan)</span> Public park in Manhattan, New York

The Battery, formerly known as Battery Park, is a 25-acre (10 ha) public park located at the southern tip of Manhattan Island in New York City facing New York Harbor. It is bounded by Battery Place on the north, with Bowling Green to the northeast, State Street on the east, New York Harbor to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. The park contains attractions such as an early 19th-century fort named Castle Clinton; multiple monuments; and the SeaGlass Carousel. The surrounding area, known as South Ferry, contains multiple ferry terminals, including the Staten Island Ferry's Whitehall Terminal; a boat launch to the Statue of Liberty National Monument ; and a boat launch to Governors Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Street pedestrian bridges</span> Bridges in Manhattan, New York

The West Street pedestrian bridges are a series of pedestrian bridges that cross West Street to connect the neighborhoods of Tribeca and the Financial District with Battery Park City in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The bridges were built to provide alternatives to crossing the busy street. Prior to the September 11 attacks, there were three bridges at Chambers Street, Vesey Street and Liberty Street. The Vesey Street and Liberty Street bridges connected the former World Trade Center complex with the World Financial Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Effects of Hurricane Sandy in New York</span>

New York was severely affected by Hurricane Sandy on October 29–30, 2012, particularly New York City, its suburbs, and Long Island. Sandy's impacts included the flooding of the New York City Subway system, of many suburban communities, and of all road tunnels entering Manhattan except the Lincoln Tunnel. The New York Stock Exchange closed for two consecutive days. Numerous homes and businesses were destroyed by fire, including over 100 homes in Breezy Point, Queens. Large parts of the city and surrounding areas lost electricity for several days. Several thousand people in midtown Manhattan were evacuated for six days due to a crane collapse at Extell's One57. Bellevue Hospital Center and a few other large hospitals were closed and evacuated. Flooding at 140 West Street and another exchange disrupted voice and data communication in lower Manhattan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Henderson (poet)</span> American writer and poet (born 1942)

David Henderson is an American writer and poet. Henderson was a co-founder of the Black Arts Movement in the 1960s. He has been an active member of New York’s Lower East Side art community for more than 40 years. His work has appeared in many literary publications and anthologies, and he has published four volumes of his own poetry. He is most known for his highly acclaimed biography of rock guitarist, Jimi Hendrix, which he revised and expanded for a second edition which was published in 2009.

Ann Shin is a filmmaker and writer based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park is a green space in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The park is sited on landfill from the World Trade Center site and opened in 1996. It was designed by a partnership of Rodolfo Machado, Jorge Silvetti, Hannah/Olin, and Lynden B. Miller. The park is named after Robert F. Wagner Jr., who helped negotiate the 1979 master plan for Battery Park City before his sudden death in 1993. The park is just north of City Pier A at the southern end of Manhattan.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Pogrebin, Robin (September 24, 2009). "Transparent New Home for Poetry". The New York Times. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
  2. 1 2 Glassman, Carl (2024-01-29). "Bringing Back the 'Inner Spirit': BPC's Poets House Reemerges from Calamity | Tribeca Trib Online" . Retrieved 2024-07-03.
  3. Roberts, Sam (July 6, 2005). "City Groups Get Bloomberg Gift of $20 Million". The New York Times. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
  4. "Beloved NYC Arts Facility Poets House Suspends Operations". NBC New York. 16 November 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  5. Glassman, Carl (2022-01-14). "Poets House After Devastating Flood. 'We're Working on Bringing It Back.'". Tribeca Tribune. Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  6. "Poets House Reopening Celebration". Poets House. 2024-01-27. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  7. Community News (4 December 2020). "Tribeca Citizen | Poets House will close indefinitely". Tribeca Citizen. Retrieved 25 March 2021.