This group is formed to gather money from those who have it in amounts excess to their needs and disburse it among poets and philosophers who lack personal finance or wherewithal to accomplish small material projects in the society at large. The committee's money will be used to sustain artists and their projects in times of stress; promote freedom of expression where such expression is threatened by social prejudice or outside force; publish works of art which have no immediate commercial vehicles for publicity; aid sick, wounded or nervous creative souls who might otherwise be financially isolated; participate in projects for altering the consciousness of the nation toward a more humane spirit of adhesiveness prophesied by Whitman; give joy to writers and artists who wish to escape unpleasant circumstances and travel or meditate; help unlucky poets and painters avoid confinement in jails and madhouses or ease their return to freedom; and otherwise aid in spiritual emergencies.
Allen Ginsberg, March 26, 1966
Committee on Poetry, A Brief History
The Committee On Poetry, Inc., was established in 1966 as a non-profit, arts (primarily literary) grant giving organization with three objectives: first, to assist artists in the completion of literary work; second, to help actualize special projects such as a publication or a performance; third, to provide emergency grants-in-aid to artists. The Board of Directors on a case-by-case basis considers applications made to the Committee On Poetry, Inc.
The Committee On Poetry, Inc. has existed for over 50 years using its low profile, friendly manner, and confidential record to help countless writers and artists finish projects, forestall evictions, obtain medical attention, and in a myriad of ways maintain artists’ existence. The recipients do not belong to any single "school" or clique of writers or artists.
In the 1970's, The Committee On Poetry, Inc. expanded to include organizing festivals of bilingual poetry readings in New York City. These weeklong conferences allowed meaningful personal exchanges and often resulted in many new translations. The international organizing arm of the Committee on Poetry, Inc., was the Committee for International Poetry. Since 1988, the Committee On Poetry, Inc. has sponsored The Rainbow Body of Poetry Reading Series at Brooklyn College, and The Jewish Writers Workshop at the Town Village Synagogue. Committee on Poetry, Inc. established the Harry Smith Archives in 1991. In August 1996, Committee On Poetry sponsored its fourth annual Charlie Parker Festival in Tompkins Square, Manhattan. Since 2003, Committee on Poetry has been America’s sponsor for the poetry magazine Van Gogh’s Ear. In 2003, Committee On Poetry sponsored the first Howl Festival in New York’s Tompkins Square. In 2004 it sponsored “By the Waters of Manhattan: Talks on Jewish Poets” and currently is assisting in Japanese Poet Nanao Sakaki, assisting Big Bridge Poetry Journal and research for Poet Philip Whalen’s Selected Letters.
A partial list of poets, writers and thinkers assisted include Harry Smith, Ed Sanders, Diane Di Prima, Philip Whalen, Herbert Huncke, James Schuyler, Anne Waldman, Bernadette Mayer, Hattie Gossett, Simon Pettet, Michael Rothenberg, Amiri Baraka, and Lenny Bruce.
Contact Us
Committee on Poetry, PO Box 582
Stuyvesant Station, New York, NY 10009-0582
committeeonpoetry@gmail.com


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This group is formed to gather money from those who have it in amounts excess to their needs and disburse it among poets and philosophers who lack personal finance or wherewithal to accomplish small material projects in the society at large. The committee's money will be used to sustain artists and their projects in times of stress; promote freedom of expression where such expression is threatened by social prejudice or outside force; publish works of art which have no immediate commercial vehicles for publicity; aid sick, wounded or nervous creative souls who might otherwise be financially isolated; participate in projects for altering the consciousness of the nation toward a more humane spirit of adhesiveness prophesied by Whitman; give joy to writers and artists who wish to escape unpleasant circumstances and travel or meditate; help unlucky poets and painters avoid confinement in jails and madhouses or ease their return to freedom; and otherwise aid in spiritual emergencies. Committee on Poetry, A Brief HistoryThe Committee On Poetry, Inc., was established in 1966 as a non-profit, arts (primarily literary) grant giving organization with three objectives: first, to assist artists in the completion of literary work; second, to help actualize special projects such as a publication or a performance; third, to provide emergency grants-in-aid to artists. The Board of Directors on a case-by-case basis considers applications made to the Committee On Poetry, Inc. The Committee On Poetry, Inc. has existed for over 50 years using its low profile, friendly manner, and confidential record to help countless writers and artists finish projects, forestall evictions, obtain medical attention, and in a myriad of ways maintain artists’ existence. The recipients do not belong to any single "school" or clique of writers or artists. In the 1970's, The Committee On Poetry, Inc. expanded to include organizing festivals of bilingual poetry readings in New York City. These weeklong conferences allowed meaningful personal exchanges and often resulted in many new translations. The international organizing arm of the Committee on Poetry, Inc., was the Committee for International Poetry. Since 1988, the Committee On Poetry, Inc. has sponsored The Rainbow Body of Poetry Reading Series at Brooklyn College, and The Jewish Writers Workshop at the Town Village Synagogue. Committee on Poetry, Inc. established the Harry Smith Archives in 1991. In August 1996, Committee On Poetry sponsored its fourth annual Charlie Parker Festival in Tompkins Square, Manhattan. Since 2003, Committee on Poetry has been America’s sponsor for the poetry magazine Van Gogh’s Ear. In 2003, Committee On Poetry sponsored the first Howl Festival in New York’s Tompkins Square. In 2004 it sponsored “By the Waters of Manhattan: Talks on Jewish Poets” and currently is assisting in Japanese Poet Nanao Sakaki, assisting Big Bridge Poetry Journal and research for Poet Philip Whalen’s Selected Letters. A partial list of poets, writers and thinkers assisted include Harry Smith, Ed Sanders, Diane Di Prima, Philip Whalen, Herbert Huncke, James Schuyler, Anne Waldman, Bernadette Mayer, Hattie Gossett, Simon Pettet, Michael Rothenberg, Amiri Baraka, and Lenny Bruce. Contact UsCommittee on Poetry, PO Box 582 committeeonpoetry@gmail.com |