Poetry Society of New York

The Poetry Society of New York is an American nonprofit organized in the state of New York in 2015.[1] Stephanie Berger and Nicholas Adamski are founding partners. Its mission is finding new and innovative ways to bring together the poetry community with the general public through a series of events and projects.[2] Events are collaborative, interactive and sometimes held in large-scale public venues in contrast to traditional poetry reading formats.[3] Based in New York City, its events are held locally, nationally, in South America and in Europe. The society has published four collections of poetry.

The Poetry Society of New York, Inc.
AbbreviationPSNY
FoundersStephanie Berger, Nicholas Adamski
Founded atBrooklyn, New York City, New York
47-3108566
Legal statusActive 501(c)(3) organization
PurposePoetry, Education, Performance
Region
United States, Europe
Membership (2017)
111
AffiliationsActive: The Poetry Brothel, The New York City Poetry Festival, The Typewriter Project Dormant: The Translation Project, The Ear Inn Series, Brothel Books, Quartier Rouge Review
Websitehttps://poetrysocietyny.org
Formerly called
The Poetry Brothel (not incorporated)

History and funding

The society began under the name The Poetry Brothel in 2008.[4] It was not incorporated until 2010 using instead the name The Poetry Society of New York, LLC. In 2015, The Poetry Society of New York, LLC was dissolved and The Poetry Society of New York, Inc. was incorporated.[5] The Poetry Society of New York was granted 501(c)(3) nonprofit status in 2015 in New York State.[6] The Poetry Brothel is now a program produced by the society. Fundraising currently includes event ticket sales, memberships and financial sponsorships.

Events

The society has three current and four retired projects and events:

Name Status Description
New York City Poetry Festival Current An annual event held on Governors Island in New York City
The Poetry Brothel Current Interactive poetry readings set in the environment of a classic brothel
The Typewriter Project Current A series of interactive public art installations that invites the public to write poetry
Brothel Books Retired Editing and publishing poetry collections
The Ear Inn Series Retired Revival of a poetry event held in an historic New York City bar
Quartier Rouge Review Retired An online video literary magazine
Translation Project Retired Poetry translation and publishing

Current projects

The New York City Poetry Festival

The festival was first organized in 2010 and is funded in part by an annual Kickstarter campaign[7] as well as sponsors that, in 2016, included the Brooklyn Brewery, The New School, New York State Council on the Arts, The Poetry Table and the Vermont College of Fine Arts.[8] The two-day poetry festival is held annually on Governors Island and features more than 200 poets.[9] According to The New York Times, the 2015 event was expected to attract 4,000 attendees.[10] Attendees for the 2016 festival attracted residents of West Virginia, Florida, New Jersey and "a poetry journal staffed by students from around the world."[11] LiteraryManhattan.org stated in 2016 that the festival is "one of the largest poetry festivals in the country" and "features an open mic area, where attendees can explore their poetic voices; a Vendor's Village, where artists, artisans, booksellers and food-makers can sell their products; and poetry-generating, interactive art installations throughout."[12] The winner of the 6th Annual Clint Eastwood Award for American Poetry was announced at the 2016 after-party held at Fraunces Tavern Restaurant.[13]

The Poetry Brothel

The brothel experience is described in various sources as an interactive descent into a Victorian brothel or Prohibition-era Speakeasy populated with "whores" that are portrayed by male and female actors, artists and poets. Brothel events are a blend of burlesque, Vaudeville and poetic performances, the sum of which has been referred to as a "think tank for art."[14][15] CultureTrip rated the brothel as one of ten suggested "Places To Experience Poetry Readings in NYC."[16] The Poetry Brothel has been staged in and/or maintains sister organizations in:

Continent Cities/States
North America Cambridge, Chicago, Edmonton, Kingston, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco, Vermont
Europe Amsterdam, Antwerp, Barcelona, Brussels, Dublin, Leicester, London, Paris, Reykjavik
South America Bogotá, Caracas, Valparaíso

Past readers and performers include: Ariana Reines (2008), David Lehman (2008), Dorianne Laux (2009), Dorothea Lasky (2012), Karen Abbott (2015), Mark Doty (2013), Matthea Harvey (2015), Patricia Smith (2008), Paul Muldoon (2013), Robert Pinsky (2016), and Timothy Donnelly (2013).

The 2011 film "Cabaret Desire" by Erika Lust was based on The Poetry Brothel's events.[17]

The Typewriter Project

The Typewriter Project is an interactive installation where a Smith Corona Sterling typewriter housed in a wooden hut is loaded with a 100-foot roll of paper and a custom USB port that records typed words and provides Internet access to the content. This technology provides further interactive participation with the text online.[18][19] A solar generator powers it.[20][21] The installation is set up for limited periods in various parks and venues in New York City including McCarren Park,[22] Governors Island, Tompkins Square Park[23] and the Pen & Brush Gallery.[24][25] Writer-contributors at the interactive typewriter installations include passersby as well as amateur writers and professional poets.

Retired projects

Brothel Books Publications

The society published three books of collected poetry under the imprint "The Poetry Society of New York, LLC & Brothel Books" during its active period between 2010 and 2012. A fourth book was published in handmade form.

The Ear Inn Series

In 2013, the society resurrected the Ear Inn Series, founded by Ted Greenwald and Charles Bernstein. The series was dormant after a 20-year run that began in 1978.[26] The series was hosted at the James Brown House in TriBeCa, which in turn houses The Ear Inn restaurant and bar. During the society's revival of the series, the tradition of focusing on language poetry continued.[27] The society's revival of the series was active between 2013 and 2014.

Quartier Rouge Revue

The Quartier Rouge Revue was a quarterly literary video journal started in 2011.[28] It suspended operation in 2012.

The Translation Project

The project began in 2010 and published one book, "The Translation Project: The Poetry Brothel Poets, Spain and The United States, Volume I.” The project’s goal was to translate new poetry into several languages and publish them monthly. It has been on hiatus since 2012.

Controversy

Prior to the society’s first Poetry Brothel event, an organization in Brighton, England held an event by the same name. The controversy is referenced in a reader’s comment posted in an article by The Guardian dated October 24, 2014 titled "Poetry Brothel puts the bawd in bard"[29] and The Review Review references another rival in Chicago, Illinois, which was started by The Poetry Society of New York but later went independent. [30] There are no public records indicating legal action between any of the aforementioned entities.

Books
  • "Andalucia" by Lisa Marie Basile ISBN 0983421714
  • "Inside Me a Whale is Taking Shape" by Nicholas Adamski (limited edition, hand-letter-pressed and hand-bound)
  • "My Own Fires" by Lauren Hunter aka Harriett Van Os ISBN 0983421722
  • "The Translation Project: The Poetry Brothel Poets, Spain and The United States” edited by Berger, Adamski, Kiely Sweatt and Lisa Marie Basile ISBN 0983421706

References
  1. "Charity Navigator". Retrieved February 9, 2017.
  2. "The Poetry Society". The Lower Manhattan Community Council. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  3. "The Poetry Brothel, Creative Writing at the New School". Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  4. "Events We Like: The 2nd Annual New York City Poetry Festival". Columbia University School of the Arts. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  5. "Divisions of Corporations and Entities". New York State Department of State. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  6. "And the Wind Through the Trees Was Too Loud". YBNY.com. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  7. "Kickstarter". Retrieved February 9, 2017.
  8. "New York City Poetry Festival". New York City Poetry Festival. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  9. "New York City Poetry Festival". Time Out New York. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
  10. "The New York City Poetry Festival Expands on Governors Island". The New York Times. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
  11. "Take a Blotter of Free Verse at the New York Poetry Fest on Governors Island". Bedford and Bowery. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
  12. "Poetry Society of New York Expands Festival". Literary Manhattan. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  13. "New York Poetry Fest on Governors Island". World Poetry Movement. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  14. "A Look at New York's Poetry Brothel". New York Observer. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  15. "The Joy of Poetry". The New Yorker. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  16. "10 Places to Experience Poetry Readings in NYC". CultureTrip. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  17. "Cabaret Desire: Sexy and Seductive New Film from Erika Lust". Good Vibes. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  18. "The Typewriter Project". Jeff Hoefs. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  19. "Typewriter Project". Subconscious of the City. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
  20. "A Roving Typewriter Records the Subconscious of New York City". Hyerallergic. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
  21. "The Typewriter Project NYC". Typosphere Blog. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  22. "The Typewriter Project: The Subconscious of the City Opening Picnic". New York City Parks. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  23. "The Typewriter Project: Tompkins Square Park". Vertical Response. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  24. "Events". New York Art Beat. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  25. "The Typewriter Project". Architect's Newspaper. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  26. "Ear Inn, NYC". University of Pennsylvania, "PennSound". Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  27. "Ear Inn Series to Debut with Hong, Hosea, Reynolds". Coldfront Magazine. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  28. "Every Writer, Listings". Every Writer Resource. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  29. "Poetry Brothel puts the bawd in bard". The Guardian. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  30. "New York Vs. Chicago: A Poetry Brothel Controversy". The Review Review. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
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