UK Poetry Society Director to Resume Post

In a supposed end to the UK Poetry Society kerfuffle, former director Judith Palmer has been reinstated. Reports the Guardian:

Speaking to the Guardian after a petition launched by [George] Szirtes and signed by over 1,000 poets and poetry lovers forced her reinstatement, Palmer explained that she had "no faith in the decisions the board were making" when she resigned.

"I didn't think I could agree with them," she said. "The fact that the board have resigned speaks for itself. There will be a new board in September and there is a really strong field of candidates and a universal determination to chart an even course. That's what people want. It has not been a great time for the society, but there is one positive thing to have come out of this: the strength of feeling from the members to make sure everything is OK at the society. A lot of poets have said to me 'I didn't realise how much I cared'."

Yesterday the 100-year-old society's board of trustees, who will stand down in September following a vote of no confidence from members in July, said in a statement that Palmer would be returning on Monday to the post of director she had held for two-and-a-half years, and apologised "for any of its decisions, statements or actions that may have contributed to the current difficulties".

The board of trustees said in its statement that an enquiry "may be helpful to ensure that best practice in governance will prevail in the future", and asked the new board, due to be elected at an AGM on 14 September, to take this on.

"With Judith Palmer back in post at the Poetry Society, supported by a new board, we hope the Poetry Society will soon be flourishing again," said the outgoing trustees.

And as for the £360,000 grant with Arts Council England that fell through?

But a challenging road lies ahead for the society. Speaking to the Guardian after the announcement of Palmer's reinstatement, the Arts Council said that it is not yet in a position to be able to release the pending grant payment. "While difficulties clearly remain, we hope that the Poetry Society's recent statements concerning senior management indicate some progress toward stability is being made," said a spokesperson. "Sound governance and management will be essential as the society seeks to regain its credibility and to fulfil the sector leadership role envisaged for it."

Palmer was upbeat about the prospects of reassuring funding organisations, though she admitted that "you wouldn't want to be starting from here".

"They need to be reassured that there is good stewardship of resources and I don't have any doubt we will be able to demonstrate that," she said.

The past few months, she added, have been "quite a major hiatus, but it is a major hiatus that is very bridgeable. Let us think of it as an unwelcome chasm that can be bridged," she said.