Over 200 Poets Sign Letter in Support of Poets House Staff

At Hyperallergic, Valentina Di Liscia writes that a letter to the board of Poets House asking leadership to reconsider firing staff, to address workplace dysfunction, and to provide more transparency around its sudden closure is gathering signatures from poets near and far. The letter, written by Caroline Crumpacker, Rachael Guynn Wilson, and Rachel Levitsky of Belladonna* "inquires whether Poets House considered all available options for weathering the pandemic, such as implementing pay cuts; increasing board giving; and decreasing overhead, 'before firing staff in a time of nearly unprecedented difficulty for families and individuals,' and asks why they were not furloughed instead." More: 

A lack of transparency about these decisions has intensified allegations of union-busting and retaliation, which Poets House staunchly denies. The nonprofit maintains that it closed when it did so that there would still be funds to compensate the nine discharged workers. (Laid-off staff will receive two weeks of salary in lieu of notice, as well payment for unused vacation time, severance of one week’s pay for each year of employment, and extended healthcare benefits, a spokesperson told Hyperallergic.) Poets House projects a reopening when the coronavirus pandemic is under control, possibly in late 2021.

In an interview with Hyperallergic, Crumpacker, Levitsky, and Wilson said the intention of the letter is constructive, to help shepherd a conversation already happening in the nonprofit arts community that extends beyond Poets House.

“The issues that led up to the desire to unionize are not specific to this organization,” said Crumpacker. “Lots of nonprofits with wonderful missions have these problems, but a reckoning hasn’t really happened.” She added that Poets House’s longtime female leaders, Executive Director Lee Briccetti and Managing Director Jane Preston — who some ex-staff charge with perpetuating workplace dysfunctions — have also likely faced sexism and other forms of discrimination in their own careers.

“As Rachael [Wilson] said, sometimes women just become so inured to it that they don’t recognize it needs to be addressed and called out,” Crumpacker said.

Read on at Hyperallergic.