Meet our Grantee-Partner: RHINO Poetry
RHINO Poetry is a volunteer-run nonprofit literary organization primarily devoted to the publication of RHINO.
Angela Narciso Torres and Lyra J. Thomas holding print copies of RHINO Poetry. Photo courtesy of RHINO Poetry.
Mission: RHINO Poetry is a volunteer-run nonprofit literary organization primarily devoted to the publication of RHINO, an annual high-quality print journal featuring well-crafted, diverse poetry, flash fiction and nonfiction, and translations.
RHINO Poetry was founded in the Chicago area in 1976 as a women’s writing workshop called the Poetry Forum, Inc. After a few years, the group incorporated as a nonprofit and started leading free poetry workshops at public libraries. Soon, the members were xeroxing and stapling small zines to distribute, and later sell, with hand-made collages as cover art. One of them doodled a rhino during a meeting, and the evocative name was born. Some of RHINO Poetry’s early members included Helen Degen Cohen, Lisel Mueller, and Martha M. Vertreace-Doody.
Today, RHINO Poetry serves adults nationally and internationally, operating and hosting events out of Chicago. All staff are volunteers who are poets, writing teachers, and/or avid poetry readers. Although they are not paid for their work, they compensate each other through mentorship, apprenticeship, opportunities for program innovation and leadership, ongoing learning, networking, and fostering a sense of belonging within a nurturing, influential, and progressive literary community.
Since its founding, RHINO Poetry has been committed to publishing and showcasing eclectic approaches to poetic excellence through its annual publication, the centerpiece of its efforts. RHINO has published early work by poets who have gone on to win major prizes and gain national visibility, including Rodney Gomez, Sally Wen Mao, Maya Marshall, Faisal Mohyuddin, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Iliana Rocha, Danez Smith, Paul Tran, Ocean Vuong, Keith Wilson, and many more. It supports international poets by publishing poems in translation, including languages not traditionally represented in publishing in the United States.
Beyond publishing, RHINO Poetry supports poets by presenting online and local live events, maintaining an archive of online poetry, reviewing new poetry collections, and awarding three cash prizes to poets each year: the Founders' Prize, Ralph Hamilton Editors' Prize, and the Translation Prize, and offering the Helen Degen Cohen Summer Reading Fellowship.
RHINO poets, writers, and fellows Beth McDermott, Ariana Benson, Nicholas Goodly, Allison Vincent, and Olatunde Osinaike holding copies of their poetry collections. Photo courtesy of RHINO Poetry.
Receiving a spring 2023 Poetry Programs, Partnerships, and Innovation grant has helped support various initiatives. RHINO Poetry has been able to keep its publication accessible to a wide audience by reducing printing costs. In addition, RHINO Poetry has expanded its online presence through the use of cloud-based services for submissions, social media, and data management. Finally, the grant has helped fund annual cash prizes and modest compensation for special contributors, including fellows and guest judges, who recently have included Cyrus Cassells, Rodney Gomez, Niki Herd, Luisa A. Igloria, and Ed Roberson.
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