About the Poetry Foundation
Our Mission
The Poetry Foundation recognizes the power of words to transform lives. We work to amplify poetry and celebrate poets by fostering spaces for all to create, experience, and share poetry.
Our History
The Poetry Foundation is a 501(c)(3) exempt private nonoperating foundation located in Chicago, Illinois. Established in 2003 upon receipt of a major gift from philanthropist Ruth Lilly, the Poetry Foundation evolved from the Modern Poetry Association, which was a literary organization founded in 1941 to support the publication of Poetry magazine. The gift from Ruth Lilly allowed the Poetry Foundation to expand and enhance the presence of poetry in the United States and established an endowment that will fund Poetry in perpetuity.
How We Fulfill Our Mission
Amplifying Poetry
Grants
The grants program is part of the Foundation's commitment to support the field of poetry and the literary arts more robustly, equitably, and transparently. Established in 2022 when the Poetry Foundation changed from an operating to a non-operating foundation, grantmaking supports nonprofit organizations with a core commitment to poetry and the literary arts.
Poetry Magazine
Founded in Chicago by Harriet Monroe in 1912, Poetry is the oldest monthly journal devoted to verse in the English-speaking world. Harriet Monroe’s “Open Door” policy, outlined in volume one, remains the most succinct statement of Poetry’s mission: to print the best poetry written today, in whatever style, genre, or approach. In recent years, nearly half of the poets published in Poetry have been first-time contributors.
Digital Archive
The Poetry Foundation uses digital technology to reach and engage a broad audience for poetry. Through its award-winning website; newsletters, like the immensely popular Poem of the Day; podcasts; and social media, the Foundation seeks to create new poetry readers, serve existing poetry fans, and support Foundation initiatives and programs.
Poetry Out Loud
The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation partner with US-state arts agencies to support Poetry Out Loud, which encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization and recitation. This program helps young people master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage while receiving poetry materials and competing for monetary prizes for themselves and their schools.
Media Partnerships
The Poetry Foundation works with media partners and other organizations to place poetry before the widest possible audience and raise it to a more visible and influential position in American culture.
Celebrating Poets
Awards
The Poetry Foundation’s Pegasus Awards are a family of prizes that serve to celebrate the best in poetry. They also directly support and reward poets, critics, and scholars with monetary prizes.
Fellowships
The Poetry Foundation awards five Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowships annually. Among the largest awards offered to young poets in the United States, the fellowship is intended to support exceptional poets between 21 and 31 years of age.
Fostering Spaces for All to Create, Experience, and Share Poetry
Library
The Poetry Foundation’s Library is the Midwest’s only library dedicated to poetry. Visitors may browse a collection of 40,000 volumes, experience audio and video recordings in private listening booths, and view exhibitions of poetry-related materials. In addition to providing public access to its collections in a reading room, the library hosts interactive workshops, programs, and book clubs to inspire a wider readership for poetry in people of all ages.
Events
The Poetry Foundation hosts free events throughout the year in its performance space and the Chicago community, often with the opportunity to attend remotely. Events include poetry readings, musical performances, artist collaborations, literary festivals, staged plays, and more.
Exhibitions
The Poetry Foundation presents engaging, multifaceted exhibitions that interrogate what poetry can look like. Exhibitions explore the physical life of poetry in all its forms, including visual arts, artifacts, and ephemera such as pictures, posters, and letters. All exhibitions are free and open to the public.