The Poetry Society of New York is a 501(c)3 non-profit rooted in the belief that art and poetry belong to us all.

At PSNY, we present poetry unconventionally—with no in-house style, transcending the everyday, and prioritizing accessibility, experimentation, and undeniable fun. Each of our events offer an invitation into a vibrant poetry world specifically designed to stimulate discovery, wonder, and life-long friendships between artists.

The Poetry Brothel

An immersive literary cabaret series that fuses poetry, activism, burlesque, live music, vaudeville, magic, mysticism, & private, one-on-one poetry experiences.

Typewriter poets

Poets wielding vintage typewriters write original, personalized poetry for guests to take home from your wedding, opening, store, cultural institution, or event.

Become a member

With PSNY, membership means more than just a regular donation: our members are a family. We offer affordable options for all, whether you’re a student or executive.

NYC poetry festival

A two-day pastoral journey through idyllic Governors Island that brings the vast & diverse poetry community of New York City to new light in the public eye.

Happenings

PSNY Happenings merge the poetry, performance, and visual visual art worlds by cultivating, presenting and inspiring collaborations across disciplines.

Team Building

Looking to heighten your company’s culture & foster a sense of community amongst employees? Let us bring a little poetry into your office & work our magic.

Virtual Workshops

Originally launched during the pandemic, this workshop series allows poets of all experience levels an opportunity to practice their craft.

Commission a poem

We have worked with countless brands to put poetry in unexpected places—on buildings, bed sheets, & body parts—and with individuals seeking artistic gifts.

Sponsor an event

As a team of professional event producers and poets, no one is better qualified to turn your brand into a poetic dreamscape while showcasing your service to the arts.


Catch a glimpse of just a few of our programs, events, and services:

Board & Staff

Stephanie Berger (she/her) is the Chief Executive Officer, Executive Director, and a co-founder of The Poetry Society of New York. She is also a poet and performance artist. She is co-creator with Nicholas Adamski of The Poetry Brothel, The New York City Poetry Festival, & The Typewriter Project. She is the author of IN THE MADAME’S HAT BOX (Dancing Girl Press, 2011) & co-author with Carina Finn of THE GREY BIRD: THIRTEEN EMOJI POEMS IN TRANSLATION (Coconut Books, 2014). With Jackie Braje, she founded Milk Press, a publisher & nurturer of poetic collaborations. Her work is largely collaborative, interactive, & community-oriented; & it straddles the worlds of literature, immersive theatre, & public art. Stephanie earned a B.A. in Philosophy at the University of Southern California, received an M.F.A. in Poetry from the New School, & taught in the English Department at Pace University.

Jackie Braje (she/her) is a Brooklyn-based poet, a friend of poets, educator, and arts administrator. She currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer of the Poetry Society of New York. With Stephanie Berger, she co-founded Milk Press—the publishing arm of PSNY— and serves as the editor-in-chief.

Her work has been published or featured by Ugly Duckling Presse, Brooklyn Poets, Free People, the Minnesota Review, the Oakland Review, the Westchester Review, Stoneboat Literary Journal, Statorec, the Quarterless Review, the Nottingham Review, Ninth Letter, and elsewhere.

She is the Allerton Park Fall ‘22 Artist-in-Residence, a 2022 collaborator and artist-in-residence with the 4heads initiative on Governors Island, and the recipient of a 2022 Himan Brown Award. She received her MFA in poetry from Brooklyn College, where she also taught as an adjunct English professor.

Tova Greene (they/them) is a proud representative of the intern to staff member pipeline at The Poetry Society of New York. They are a non-binary, queer, Jewish poet who graduated in May of 2022 with a BA from Sarah Lawrence College. One of seven senior thesis candidates in the class of 2022, they specialized in the intersection of twentieth century American poetry and feminist theory, with a sprinkle of Greek and Roman antiquity and dramatic literature. They are the author of the collection lilac on the damned's breath (Bottlecap Press, 2022), and their second collection, ohso, is coming out via Indie Earth Publishing in early 2023. Their poem "snowed like this on fulton street" was nominated for Sundress Publications "Best of the Net" awards. Their work has been featured in Eunoia Review, Midway Journal, West Trade Review, and others. For more information, please see https://linktr.ee/tovagreene.

Stephanie Berger
Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Anna Genevieve Winham (she/her) is an award-winning writer who serves as the Development Director for PSNY, the EIC for Passengers Journal, and the Marketing Director for EdTech startup Biblionasium. She also performs in the Poetry Brothel, and she previously edited Oxford Public Philosophy. Anna writes at the crossroads of science and the sublime, cyborgs and the surreal, and you’ll find her work in Ninth Letter, New York Quarterly, the Oxford Review of Books, Brooklyn Magazine, and Meetinghouse Magazine online among others. While attending Dartmouth College (which was the pits), she won the Stanley Prize for experimental essay and the Kaminsky Family Fund Award. She’s working on her novel—ask her about it, if you dare.

Anna Genevieve Winham
Development Director

Keighly Baron
HR Director

Leon Barros (he/they) is a Brooklyn-based Filipinx poet and editor. Their work has appeared and is forthcoming in ANMLY, Annulet, A Velvet Giant, DiaCRITICS, and more. Their work has previously been nominated for Best of the Net and the Pushcart Prize, and they are currently working on a full-length tentatively titled Greenworld.

Leon Barros
Milk Press Managing Editor

Lucas Hunt (he/him) is the president of HUNT Auctioneers and a celebrated American poet. He graduated from World Wide College of Auctioneering, has a Benefit Auctioneer Specialist (BAS) designation from the National Auctioneer’s Association, and has helped raise hundreds of millions of dollars and awareness for non-profit organizations.

Lucas Hunt
Board Member

Alan Keegan
Board Member

Jackie Braje
Chief Operating Officer

A regular cast member of the Poetry Brothel since 2015, Emi Bergquist (she/her) is a seasoned writer, poet, content creator, and social media strategist with over 5 years experience in media and marketing. Emi is passionate about creating spaces of community and engagement. Proud dog mom to her two year old rescue pup, Zola, who is part Pitbull, part Cattle-Dog, and 100% a very good girl.

Emi Bergquist
Social Media Director

Natalee Cruz (she/her) is a poet and fiction dual MFA at the New School. She has been published in The Spectacle, The Ilanot Review, The Thing Itself, Sazerac Smokey Ink, and Electric Literature. Her chapbook, I Have Seen the Bluest Blue, is available through Ugly Duckling Presse. 

Natalee Cruz
Milk Press Editor-in-Chief

Born in a blizzard in NY with the gifts of premonition and manifestation, Bernadette McComish (she/her) is an educator and fortuneteller. She earned an M.F.A. from Sarah Lawrence and an M.A. in TESOL from Hunter College. Her poems have appeared in The Cortland Review, For Women Who Roar, Slipstream, Flypaper Magazine, Peregrine, and a finalist for the New Millennium Writers 41st poetry prize. Her chapbook— The Book of Johns was published in 2018 by Dancing Girls Press, and her second chapbook was published in 2021 by Lily Poetry Review. She teaches High School in LA, and performs poetry, and produces shows with The Poetry Society of New York making poetry accessible to everyone.

Bernadette McComish
Immersive Events Manager

Meredith Starkman (she/her) is an actor, writer, and political strategist. She has worked across India, Brazil, and the U.S. facilitating arts programming in prisons and juvenile detention facilities. She is currently an Advance Associate for The White House and serves as the Director of Strategic Planning for Streets For All, a Los Angeles non-profit working to expand sustainable transportation and decarbonize the city.  Meredith narrates audiobooks for Brilliance Publishing, hosts the New York Poetry Festival, and believes in the power of poetry to transform people’s lives. 

Meredith Starkman
Board Member

Darby Mae Wagner (she/her) is an English and French speaking bon vivant who uses her skills and experience as a writer, wine and hospitality professional, and creative strategist to support her ongoing artistic endeavors—and mitigate the madness of living in an increasingly unaffordable world. In 2021, she founded GNOSES, a creative studio where ideas are explored and sometimes brought to life—one such example being the co-production of Wine Poetic. Experientially, GNOSES is a collaborative series of bespoke artistic and epicurean experiences that celebrate and explore community, art, literature, ancestral traditions, and local activism, all in their various forms. GNOSES also finds a home on Substack, where Darby’s musings (essays, abstract narratives, poetry, and the like) are published freely and irregularly. Check out SWURL Media for her ongoing series, 'Alter Egos' where she profiles some of the most commonly known grapes and suggests their lesser known alternatives. And for other examples of her published works, go here.

Darby Mae Wagner
Wine Poetic Co-Producer

Tova Greene
Programs Director

Kyle Studstill (he/him) has been an NYC-based digital and social strategist for the past 12 years, working closely with high-profile brands that include PepsiCo, Belvedere, Hennessy, and AstraZeneca. His work blending creative storytelling with business innovation has been featured in Fast Company, Monocle Magazine, CreativeMornings and Yahoo Business. As a performance poet he has been featured by Inspired Word NYC and the Poets Afloat residency program. 

Kyle Studstill
Marketing Director

Melody Ruediger
Membership Manager

Shari Caplan (she/her) is the siren behind 'Advice from a Siren’ (Dancing Girl Press). Her poems have swum into Gulf Coast, Painted Bride Quarterly, Angime, Drunk Monkeys, and elsewhere. Shari’s work has earned her a scholarship to The Home School, a fellowship to The Vermont Studio Center, nominations for a Bettering American Poetry Award, and a Pushcart Prize. She proudly serves as Madam Betty BOOM for The Poetry Brothel in Boston. Keep up with her at ShariCaplan.com

Shari Caplan
Boston Poetry Brothel Producer

Gregg Emery (he/him) received his Bachelor of Arts with departmental distinction from Hartwick College and a Masters in Fine Art from the Maryland Institute, College of Art, where he studied under Babe Shapiro, Power Boothe, Hermine Ford, Sam Gilliam and Sal Scarpitta. He is currently the Chair of the Visual Arts at the Trinity School, a private, coeducational K-12 school in Manhattan. Emery enjoys teaching art & art history, sharing his knowledge and experience with a younger generation. His artwork is included in numerous private and public collections including the permanent collection of the Baltimore Museum of Art. It has also been featured in exhibits worldwide including Beijing, Belgium and, most recently at the Governor’s Island Art Fair, Pier 94, SCOPE Miami and even on Season 2 of the hit show, The Last O.G. Along with his large scale abstractions, Emery continues his practice of drawing from life wherever he goes and can often be seen sketching the people of New York from subway cars, to restaurants, bars, shows and, for the past 6 years, he has been the ‘official painter’ of the New York City Poetry Brothel.

Gregg Emery
Board Member


Partners & Funders

Founded in 2008, The Poetry Society of New York brings poetry into the 21st Century. 

MISSION

The Poetry Society of New York has a simple mission: to redefine and reestablish poetry's essential position in the culture-at-large. The society accomplishes this mission by: a) creating new models for the presentation of poetry, b) fostering vibrant, progressive poetry communities across the globe, c) cultivating relationships in the worlds of art, literature, design and business, and d) presenting the works of New York City poets to the world. The New York City poetry world has largely isolated itself to a small & fragmented circle. The Poetry Society of New York moves through & opens up that circle to unite the community of makers with the community of appreciators in fresh and unconventional ways.

HISTORY

The Poetry Society of New York first emerged under the guise of The Poetry Brothel at The Living Theater in 2008. The Poetry Brothel was conceived as a performance art event aimed at fostering intimacy, urgency and exaltation within the New York poetry community, and at expanding that community to include a more diverse population of artists. At that time, New York City, the place perceived by thousands of young writers to be the epicenter of the contemporary poetry world, felt boring. Allen Ginsberg, Frank O’Hara and Edna St. Vincent Millay had quit running amok decades earlier, and a clear vitalizing alternative was required. The Poetry Brothel provided one cure: a pastiche of back-alley history and literary revelry, this event series remedied the monotony of the slam poetry reading’s excessive bravado, and charmed patrons of the one-note, one-format academic poetry readings out of their fold-up chairs into back rooms for private readings.

But it wasn’t enough. The Poetry Brothel bridged social boundaries between individuals, but soon, Berger and Adamski felt the need to cross literal borders. In 2009, they oversaw the creation of The Poetry Brothel’s first international chapter, Prostibulo Poetico, founded by Kiely Sweatt in Barcelona. In 2010, The Poetry Brothel and Prostibulo Poetico began a translation project in the hopes of opening the lines of communication between New York poets and poets living abroad, but in order to get funding for such a project, it was time to get legal and form a business entity. When the state of New York rejected the business name “The Poetry Brothel,” citing it as “lewd and illegal,” Berger and Adamski requested “The Poetry Society of New York, LLC ” and much to their surprise, they got it! 

Since forming The Poetry Society of New York in 2010, they have expanded The Poetry Brothel into over 25 cities across the globe and created The New York City Poetry Festival (founded 2011), The Typewriter Project (founded 2014), Milk Press (founded 2018), and countless smaller projects. Since forming their 501(c)3 corporation, The Poetry Society of New York, Inc., they have watched their little society take on a life of its own. Over the years, via its programs and client services, The Poetry Society of New York has brought poetry into the lives of millions.

MISSION STATEMENT

The Poetry Society of New York (“PSNY”) has a simple mission: to redefine and reestablish poetry’s essential position in the culture-at-large. The society accomplishes this mission by: 

  • creating new models for the presentation of poetry;

  • fostering vibrant, progressive poetry communities across the globe;

  • cultivating relationships in the worlds of art, literature, design, and commerce, and;

  • presenting the works of New York City poets to the world.

ZERO-TOLERANCE POLICY: Harassment, Discrimination, Bullying

Harassment of any kind is illegal. Discrimination against an individual or group based on a protected characteristic is also prohibited by law. Furthermore, it is the commitment of The Poetry Society of New York (PSNY) to create and maintain a workplace and event space in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. In this regard, discrimination or harassment in any form is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. 

Any PSNY affiliate or employee who feels harassed or discriminated against should report the incident to his or her manager or to PSNY’s CEO, Stephanie Berger at sb@poetrysocietyny.org. If, for any reason, you do not feel comfortable discussing the matter with any of the above-named individuals, you may report the incident to any representative of the Company with the understanding that that person is also encouraged to report the information to the above-named parties. We will not tolerate retaliation of any kind against employees who raise genuine ethics concerns in good faith. 

All incident claims will be investigated promptly and thoroughly, and anyone found to have violated our policy will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including warnings, probation, and termination of employment or affiliation with PSNY. The specific action taken will be fair and consistent with the severity of the action. 

Harassment may take many forms, but the most common forms include:

  1. Verbal – such as jokes, epithets, slurs, negative stereotyping, and unwelcome remarks about an individual’s body, color, age, physical characteristics, or appearance, questions or comments about a person’s sexual practices, or gossiping about sexual relations;

  2. Physical – such as physical interference with normal work, impeding or blocking movement, assault, unwelcome physical contact, leering at a person’s body, and threatening, intimidating or hostile acts that relate to a protected characteristic;

  3. Visual – such as offensive or obscene images, display of sexually suggestive or lewd objects, unwelcome notes or letters, and any other written or graphic material that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion toward an individual, because of a protected characteristic, that is placed on the employer’s premises or circulated in the workplace. 

EVENT PROTOCOL

A large component of PSNY’s business activity consists of selling tickets to events where alcohol is served, and employees take audience members for intimate poetry readings. Due to our unique event environment, PSNY takes its employees’ and audience’s safety and well-being very seriously. If any employee, contractor, intern, volunteer, or audience member believes they were the victim of harassment, they are encouraged to immediately report the incident verbally to one or more of the following on-site contacts:

  • Stephanie Berger, CEO 

  • Jackie Braje, COO

  • The production coordinator or other person in charge of the event or territory where you are working

  • Any person that the above-named individuals designate as the appropriate “on-site” representative at events

Incidents reported verbally at events will be immediately handled. In most cases, after receiving the verbal report, one of the above named individuals will tell the venue’s designated security person, and the harasser will be removed from the venue by that security person. Employees are encouraged to submit a written report in addition as soon as possible after the incident. PSNY retains the right to suspend or ban any individual from PSNY related-activities, with or without cause. 

MORE INFORMATION

FEDERAL

Types of Discrimination: https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/index.cfm

Harassment: https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/harassment.cfm

Sexual Harassment: https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/sexual_harassment.cfm

NEW YORK STATE

Anti-Discrimination: https://goer.ny.gov/anti-discrimination-investigations

Sexual Harassment: https://www.ny.gov/programs/combating-sexual-harassment-workplace

NEW YORK CITY

Human Rights Commission: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/cchr/index.page

Sexual Harassment: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/cchr/law/sexual-harassment-training-main.page

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, & ACCESS

At The Poetry Society of New York, a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace is one where all employees, contractors, and volunteers, whatever their gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, age, sexual orientation or identity, education or disability, feels valued and respected. We are committed to a nondiscriminatory approach and to providing equal opportunity for employment and advancement in all of our programs and worksites. We respect and value diverse life experiences and heritages and ensure that all voices are valued and heard.

We’re committed to modeling diversity and inclusion for the entire arts industry of the nonprofit sector, and to maintaining an inclusive environment with equitable treatment for all.

DEFINITIONS

Diversity is the presence of difference within a given setting. In this case the workplace is the setting and the differences typically refer to identity like race and gender, and sometimes ethnicity, religion, nationality, or sexual orientation. A person isn’t diverse. They’re unique. They can bring diversity to a group though. You’re not looking for a diverse candidate. Diversity is about a collective or a group.

Inclusion has to do with people with different identities feeling and/or being valued, leveraged, and welcomed within a given setting (whether that’s a team, workplace, or industry). Longtime Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion educator, Verna Myers, said: “Diversity is being asked to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance.” Inclusion isn’t a natural consequence of diversity. You can have a diverse team of talent, but that doesn’t mean they feel welcomed or valued or are given opportunities to grow.

Equity is an approach that ensures everyone has access to the same opportunities. Equity recognizes that we don’t all start from the same place because advantages and barriers exist. It’s a process that acknowledges uneven starting places and seeks to correct the imbalance. Diversity and inclusion are both outcomes. Equity is not. It refers to the process an organization engages in to ensure that people with marginalized identities have the opportunity to grow, contribute, and develop.

GOALS

To provide informed, authentic leadership for equity, PSNY strives to:

  • See diversity, inclusion, and equity as connected to our mission and critical to ensure the well-being of our staff and the arts communities we serve.

  • Acknowledge and dismantle any inequities within our policies, systems, programs, and services, and continually make updates to pursue cultural competency and progress throughout our organization.

  • Explore potential underlying, unquestioned assumptions that interfere with inclusiveness.

  • Advocate for and support thinking about how systemic inequities impact our organization’s work, and how best to address that in a way that is consistent with our mission.

  • Help to challenge assumptions about what it takes to be a strong leader at our organization, and who is well-positioned to provide leadership.

  • Practice and encourage transparent communication in all interactions.

  • Commit time and resources to expand more diversity within our board, staff, committees, and advisory bodies.

  • Lead with respect, tolerance, and sensitivity. We expect all employees, contractors, and volunteers to embrace this notion and to express it in workplace interactions and through everyday practices.

PLAN OF ACTION

The Poetry Society of New York takes the following steps to help promote diversity and inclusion in our workplace: 

  • Create detailed and transparent policies and plans for inclusion for all current board members, staff, and volunteers to follow and for all future organization members to understand upon hiring.

  • Develop and present formal learning opportunities for community members on various facets of diversity, inclusion, and equitable practices.

  • Develop a system for being more intentional and conscious of bias during the hiring, training, and evaluating processes. 

  • Improve our programs and offerings by creating and supporting programs and policies that foster opportunities for employees, artists, and leaders of diverse identities and abilities.

  • Pool resources and expand offerings for underrepresented constituents by connecting with other arts organizations committed to diversity and inclusion efforts.

  • Advocate for public and private-sector policy that promotes diversity, inclusion, and equity wherever possible. 

  • Challenge systems and policies that create inequality, oppression and disparity wherever possible.

  • Include a salary range with all public job descriptions.

DISABILITY INCLUSION PLAN

Regardless of limited time and resources, every nonprofit can do something to make strides toward inclusion of those with disabilities. As such, The Poetry Society of New York is committed to its disability inclusion plan, which follows these mandates:

  • Require leadership to take a free online e-course on disability: https://https://disabilityin.org/resource/disability-fundamentals-training-for-managers/

  • Engage employees, performers, board-members, interns, and other community members in an open discussion addressing attitudinal barriers and bias within our organization at least once per year and more frequently as deemed necessary.

  • When onboarding new employees, performers, board members, or other community members, explain how they can make reasonable accommodation requests and offer multiple forums – in writing, in an announcement during a meeting, etc. 

  • Ensure on-boarding information is shared electronically in an accessible document.

  • Ensure all supervisors have had the training to identify accommodation requests, even when employees or community members don’t use specific terms like “disability” or “accommodation” to identify their need for support.

  • Take a pro-active approach in facilitating realistic accommodation requests by describing any challenges folks with disabilities typically face in on-boarding materials. 

  • Include and encourage new employees, performers, interns, volunteers, and board members to complete a voluntary disability status question in on-boarding materials so they may choose to disclose their disability details to management in a confidential forum and judgement-free zone.

  • Streamline internal process for arranging reasonable accommodations.

Interested in working together? Have a burning question? Tell us what’s on your mind!