CCNY'S POETRY OUTREACH CENTER

The primary purpose of the Poetry Outreach Center is to encourage poetic activity--the
creation and appreciation of poetry--at all levels of public education.  An ancillary purpose
is to strengthen overall literacy through creative writing.  We do this through workshops,
an Annual Poetry Festival, contests*, and an annual anthology containing student and
adult poetry, Poetry in Performance.  

Poets from City College's faculty and graduate students, go into the public schools of
NYC to give readings and conduct hands-on writing workshops which culminate in students' participation at the Annual Spring Poetry Festival. Students from all five boroughs also enter a high-school poetry contest in which winners receive cash prizes and attend special events. Over the years our activities have become more widespread and our goal is to continue and go into more diverse areas of this city so that its rich cultures can be tapped and appreciated.

*Knopf/Random House provides funding for our high school
winners on a yearly basis.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FESTIVAL POSTER

2012 SEED GRANT      

The purpose of a Seed Grant is to 1) Provide internal funding for the initial stages of a new interdisciplinary and collaborative work that will generate date to facilitate the development of external grant applications to government agencies or private foundations by investigators or 2) Facilitate the development of a new and novel direction of creative work and scholarship that will enhance the national and international reputation of CUNY. 

In 2012, Poetry Outreach received a SEED grant in collaboration with Elizabeth Rorschach from the School of Education. The purpose of this grant is to fund an expansion of the Poetry Outreach Center into more NYC schools, and to forge a stronger partnership between the Center and the School of Education. An additional goal is to establish, though publications, conferences and other means of dissemination, the Poetry Outreach Center as a consultative and training resource for local and regional colleges.