Director
The Harriett Monroe Poetry Institute
The Poetry Foundation

The Harriet Monroe Poetry Institute
The Harriet Monroe Poetry Institute, named for the founder of Poetry magazine, will bring leading advocates and practitioners of poetry—scholars, critics, poets, translators, publishers, and arts administrators—together with thinkers from outside the poetry world to address issues of importance to the art form. Supported by the Poetry Foundation’s resources, the Institute, when fully established, will have the capability to convene forums, commission research, publish proceedings, and propose projects and recommendations to address the needs of poetry. The Institute is an ongoing program of the Poetry Foundation located at the Foundation offices in Chicago.

The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine and one of the largest literary organizations in the world, exists to discover and celebrate the best poetry and to place it before the largest possible audience. The Foundation seeks to be a leader in shaping a receptive climate for poetry by developing new audiences, creating new avenues for delivery, and encouraging new kinds of poetry through innovative literary prizes and programs. More information about the Foundation may be found on its Web site at www.poetryfoundation.org.

The Position
As the public face of the Harriet Monroe Poetry Institute, the Director will bring an established reputation in art and culture, lending the Institute stature and prominence among its many constituencies. The Director will have the natural leadership abilities and managerial expertise to take the idea of a poetry institute, now in its start-up phase, and turn it into an operating enterprise. The Director will work effectively as part of a team of senior managers and editors at the Poetry Foundation in the pursuit of its mission to discover and celebrate the best poetry and to place it before the largest possible audience. The Director shall reside in Chicago and report to the president of the Foundation.

Duties

• Be responsible for the Institute in its full range of activities as forum, research center, and solution-oriented think tank.
  
• Create a collaborative process in which members of the poetry community, in all its aesthetic, cultural, ethnic, and geographical diversity, can gather with innovators from outside the poetry community and participate in a spirit of independent inquiry.
  
• Commission and oversee original research in a variety of formats, to better understand and support issues related to poetry.
  
• Bridge lively creative thinking with the practical realities of the marketplace, recognizing that poetry, to have a vigorous presence in our culture, depends on both.
  
• Enthusiastically promote partnerships, programs, and projects, to be pursued by the Foundation or others, that will benefit poetry as an art form with an audience.
  
• Some travel expected.

Qualifications

• Nationally respected writer and researcher with the analytical, managerial, and negotiating skills necessary to identify issues and pursue them through to findings and recommended actions.
  
• Good public speaker and an even better listener.
  
• A passion for, and a central preoccupation with, poetry; a demonstrated interest in other art forms; intellectual integrity and high energy; and a fundamental belief that change is possible and best effected through dialogue.
  
• Ph.D. preferred.

Salary:
This position offers a competitive salary and excellent benefits. Full-time, exempt.

Application:
The Poetry Foundation is an equal opportunity employer and values the various perspectives and talents of a diverse staff.

Interested applicants should email a cover letter, a C.V/résumé, and a list of personal references to recruiter@barrypersonnel.com (please send all attachments as a Word or PDF document; subject line: HMPI Director).