Program areas at Poets House
Poets House library and showcase:the entirety of the collection, which is among the most comprehensive in the country, was sent to off-site storage early in 2023 to protect it during construction. In advance of reopening, the 80,000-volume collection was returned from storage, reorganized, and rehoused in open stacks with 40% more shelf space, and new accommodations for chapbooks and special collections. Poets House continued to receive and process materials, adding over 5,000 items including books for the 28th Poets House showcase, which was presented in early 2024.
The youth center at Poets House: during 2023 planning for a reinvigorated youth program went forward with the goal of providing children and teens a way to explore language as a vehicle for the imagination, a means of self-expression and a pathway to understanding. The former children's room in early 2024 as the youth center which serves as the hub for youth programming.
Literary programs: while construction continued throughout 2023, Poets House curated and presented off-site programs at the new york city poetry festival, film forum, signature theater, and brooklyn bridge. Remote programs included thirty-five writing workshops, weekly radio broadcasts, and bi-weekly readings. Poets House produced a large-scale window exhibit featuring Poets responding to the climate chrsis and presented its first in-person program since the pandemic, the 2023 james welch prize readings, celebrating indigenous Poets.