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, we felt the need to cross literal borders. In 2009, we 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,” we requested “The Poetry Society of New York, LLC ” and much to our surprise, we got it! 

Since forming The Poetry Society of New York in 2010, we 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 our 501(c)3 corporation, The Poetry Society of New York, Inc., we have watched our 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.