Poets House Celebrates the 75th Anniversary of New Directions

On view July 21 through October 8, 2011

Poets House is delighted to honor New Directions – one of the most innovative publishers in the United States – on the occasion of its 75th anniversary with a special exhibition of art, books, letters and ephemera.

Founded by James Laughlin in 1936, New Directions has published some of the leading American poets of the last century, including Djuna Barnes, Robert Creeley, H.D., Robert Duncan, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Denise Levertov, Ezra Pound, Dylan Thomas, William Carlos Williams and Tennessee Williams, as well as many international figures, from Li Po to Octavio Paz. Today, New Directions continues the tradition of publishing innovative literature from around the world, adding approximately thirty books a year to a list of more than 1,000 titles in print. Poetry remains central to the company’s publishing vision.

This exhibition represents both the spirit and history of the publisher. The show will comprise rare books, letters, photographs and works of art including pieces by Jean Cocteau, Alvin Lustig, and Henry Miller, among others. New Directions was established in 1936 with the publication of the first volume of the anthology New Directions in Poetry and Prose. The edition included work by Wallace Stevens, Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, Jean Cocteau, Marianne Moore, William Carlos Williams, ee cummings, Elizabeth Bishop, Lorine Niedecker and Louis Zukofsky, among others.