Timeline
The History of Poets House
1980
Early 1980s
- Betty Kray and Stanley Kunitz convene a series of meetings with poets and lovers of the art to discuss the formation of Poets House
1985
- Poets House, Inc. is established as a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit organization
- Stanley Kunitz becomes Poets House Board President, Rachel Bellow its first executive director
- Betty and Stanley organize the Poets Advisory Committee, a diverse group of poets representing all aesthetic approaches to poetry, to advise on program initiatives
1986
- Poets House opens to the public with a core collection of 600 books from poet and critic Paul Zweig
- On April 16th, Poets House presents its first public program, a reading and conversation with Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer
1987
- Passwords, the signature Poets House program series, which features one poet reading and discussing the work of another, is developed by Didi Goldenhar, Poets House’s first program director
1989
- Poets House appoints Lee Briccetti Executive Director
1990
1990
- Poets House moves to 72 Spring Street, a 2,200 square foot loft space
- Margo Viscusi begins her long tenure as Board President
- Stanley Kunitz becomes President Emeritus
1992
- Poets House’s first annual Poets House Showcase, then called the “Poetry Publication Showcase,” featuring new poetry books from 1991 and discussions about the future of poetry publishing.
1993
- Axe-Houghton Multimedia Archive established
1995
- Poetry in The Branches (PITB) established in partnership with The New York Public Library; Philip Levine presents first public PITB event
- First Summer Reading Series in Rockefeller Park in partnership with Battery Park City
1996
- First Annual Poetry Walk Across the Brooklyn Bridge Benefit is held
1999
- Poetry in the Branches in nine metropolitan library sites
- First People’s Poetry Gathering co-sponsored with City Lore, exploring the relationship between oral traditions and literary texts; 8,000 attend
2000
2000
- First Poets House website launched
2001
- Poets House expands to 4,500 square feet at 72 Spring Street
- First Children’s Room opens in a converted storage closet
- Second People’s Poetry Gathering, aligning music, poetry, and oral traditions
2003
- Third People’s Poetry Gathering, bringing together over 30 downtown programming organizations
2004
- First poetry installation opens in Central Park Zoo
- Designated by Battery Park City to receive a 11,000-square-foot space in a new green building
- Capital campaign commences
2005
- Branching Out: Poetry for the 21st Century, with the Poetry Society of America, in partner libraries in five U.S. cities
- Stanley Kunitz turns 100: “Immortality? It’s nothing to lose sleep over.”
2008
- Poets House construction in Battery Park City begins
- Poetry in the Zoos project begins in five US cities
- The Invention of Farewell: The poetry community says farewell to 72 Spring Street
2009
- Margo Viscusi becomes President Emerita; Martín Gómez becomes Board President
- September 24 – 26
Poets House Grand Opening at 10 River Terrace
2010
2010
- Launch of expanded Children’s Room services at 10 River Terrace and free class trips
- First year at 10 River Terrace features programs on ecopoetics
2011
- Attendance more than doubles at new location, reaching 50,000 in the fiscal year ending June 30th
- Emily Dickinson at Poets House: Exhibit drawn from the Donald and Patricia Oresman Collection opens at Poets House, featuring rare manuscripts, books, letters, and fragments
- 25th Anniversary celebration of Poets House features a year-long series of poems tracing the 3,000-year history of poetry
- Poets House participates in groundbreaking program with City Lore, Illuminated Verses: Poetries of the Islamic World
- Emerging Poets Fellowship at Poets House begins
2012
- Poetic Voices of the Muslim World, co-sponsored with City Lore—an exhibit and program series—travels to library systems in ten U.S. cities (through 2015)
2013
- Robert Kissane becomes Poets House Board President
- Native Innovation: Indigenous American Poetry in the 21st Century, a conference and symposium
2014
- A yearlong exploration of poetry in relationship to other literary genres
2016
- Nick Potter becomes Poets House Board President
- 20th Anniversary of the Poetry Walk Across the Brooklyn Bridge
2017
- 25th Anniversary of the Poets House Showcase
- 30 close readings of poems, celebrating 30 years of Poets House public programming
2018
- Field Work, a model program aligning STEM learning with poetry in diverse partner libraries
- New website, blog, and digitization project launch