The Cleveland State University Poetry Center is a literary

small press A small press is a publisher with annual sales below a certain level or below a certain number of titles published. The terms "indie publisher" and "independent press" and others are sometimes used interchangeably. Independent press is general ...

and poetry outreach organization in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

, operated under the auspices of the English Department at

Cleveland State University Cleveland State University (CSU) is a public research university in Cleveland, Ohio. It was established in 1964 and opened for classes in 1965 after acquiring the entirety of Fenn College, a private school that had been in operation since 1923 ...

. It publishes original works of

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meani ...

by contemporary writers, though it also publishes

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s, essay collections, and occasional works of criticism or translated poetry collections. It was founded in 1962 by poet

Lewis Turco Lewis Putnam Turco (born May 2, 1934) is an American poet, teacher, and writer of fiction and non-fiction. Turco is an advocate for Formalist poetry (or New Formalism) in the United States. Life and work Turco took a keen interest in poetry as ...

Encyclopedia of Cleveland History:CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY POETRY CENTER
/ref> at what was then Fenn College, attained its present name two years later when Fenn College was absorbed into the newly founded Cleveland State University, and began publishing books in 1971. From 2007 to 2012 its Director and Series Editor was poet and professor Michael Dumanis.Either Death or Sunlight: A Talk about Publishing with Jericho Brown and Michael Dumanis – The Best American Poetry
/ref> From 2014, its Director and Series Editor is the poet and professor Caryl Pagel.

History

In its history, the poetry center has published more than 150 titles, including works by David Baker,

Scott Cairns Scott Clifford Cairns (born 1954 in Tacoma, Washington) is an American poet, memoirist, librettist, and essayist. Formal education Cairns earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Western Washington University (1977), a Master of Arts degree from H ...

, Jared Carter, Chrystos, Martha Collins,

Emily Kendal Frey Emily Kendal Frey (born January 20, 1976, in McLean, Virginia) is an American poet. Frey is the author of the full-length poetry collections ''The Grief Performance'' (Cleveland State University Poetry Center, 2011), ''Sorrow Arrow'' (Octopus Book ...

, David Graham, Richard Hague,

Mark Jarman Mark F. Jarman (born in Mount Sterling, Kentucky) is an American poet and critic often identified with the New Narrative branch of the New Formalism; he was co-editor with Robert McDowell of '' The Reaper'' throughout the 1980s. Centennial Pro ...

Claudia Keelan Claudia Keelan (b. 1959) is an American poet, writer, and professor. She received the Regents’ Creative Activities Award, at the University of Nevada, Los Vegas. Life Claudia Keelan is the author of seven collections of poetry, most recently ' ...

, David Kirby,

Thomas Lux Thomas Lux (December 10, 1946 – February 5, 2017) was an American poet who held the Margaret T. and Henry C. Bourne, Jr. Chair in Poetry at the Georgia Institute of Technology and ran Georgia Tech's "Poetry @ Tech" program. He wrote fourteen ...

Thylias Moss Thylias Moss (born February 27, 1954, in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American poet, writer, experimental filmmaker, sound artist and playwright of African-American, Native American, and European heritage. Her poetry has been published in a number of ...

Amy Newman Amy Newman is translator, American poet, and professor. She is a Presidential Research Professor at Northern Illinois University. Life She graduated with a Ph.D. in English Literature and Language from Ohio University. She is the author of five ...

, Mwatabu S. Okantah, Carol Potter,

Claudia Rankine Claudia Rankine (; born September 4, 1963) is an American poet, essayist, playwright and the editor of several anthologies. She is the author of five volumes of poetry, two plays and various essays. Her book of poetry, '' Citizen: An American L ...

Tim Seibles Tim Seibles (born 1955) is an American poet, professor and the former Poet Laureate of Virginia. He is the author of five collections of poetry, most recently, ''Voodoo Libretto: New and Selected Poems'' (Etruscan Press, 2022). His honors include ...

, Larry R. Smith, Judith Vollmer,

Jeanne Murray Walker Jeanne Murray Walker (born May 27, 1944) is an American poet and playwright. Life Jeanne Murray was born on May 27, 1944 in Parkers Prairie, Minnesota, the daughter of John Gerald and Erna Murray. In 1965, she won the Atlantic Monthly Award for ...

Sam Witt Sam Witt (born 1970) is an American poet and tenured English professor who currently lives in Brookline, Massachusetts. Life Born in 1970 in Wimbledon, England. He studied as an undergraduate at the University of Virginia and went on to receive ...

, and

Franz Wright Franz Wright (March 18, 1953 – May 14, 2015) was an American poet. He and his father James Wright are the only parent/child pair to have won the Pulitzer Prize in the same category. Life and career Wright was born in Vienna, Austria. He graduat ...

Poetry center competitions

In recent years, the poetry center has acquired the majority of its books through two annual poetry contests, the First Book Competition for new poets and the Open Competition for poets who already have published books. Recent judges for the First Book Competition have included the poets Rae Armantrout,

Nick Flynn Nick Flynn (born January 26, 1960) is an American writer, playwright, and poet. His writing is characterized by lyric, distilled moments, which blur the boundaries of various genres. Many of his books are structured using a collage technique, w ...

, Matthea Harvey, and

D. A. Powell Douglas A. Powell (born May 16, 1963 Albany, Georgia) is an American poet. Life and career Powell lived in various places growing up, then graduated high school from Lindhurst High School in Olivehurst, California. He then worked in a number of ...

. From 2008 to 2013, the Open Competition has been juried by a panel consisting of poets

Kazim Ali Kazim Ali (born April 5, 1971) is an American poet, novelist, essayist, and professor. His most recent books are ''Inquisition'' (Wesleyan University Press, 2018) and ''All One's Blue'' (Harper Collins India, 2016). His honors include an Individua ...

Mary Biddinger Mary Biddinger (born May 14, 1974, in Fremont, California) is an American poet, editor, and academic. Biography Mary Biddinger received an Honors B.A. in English with a Creative Writing Subconcentration from the University of Michigan. She a ...

, Michael Dumanis, and Sarah Gridley. In 2015, the Poetry Center will run its first Essay Collection Competition, judged by

Wayne Koestenbaum Wayne Koestenbaum (born 1958) is an American artist, poet, and cultural critic. He received a B.A. from Harvard University, an M.A. from the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars, and a Ph.D. from Princeton University and is a 1994 Whiting Award recipie ...

Recent and forthcoming publications

Recent and forthcoming publications include books by Samuel Amadon,

Oliver Baez Bendorf Oliver Baez Bendorf (born 1987) is an American poet. Early life and education Oliver Baez Bendorf was born on June 21, 1987, in Iowa City, Iowa. His poems sometimes feature the landscape of his childhood, and his writing about returning to Iowa ...

, John Bradley, Lily Brown,

Elyse Fenton Elyse Fenton (born September 4, 1980 in Brookline, Massachusetts) is an American poet. Fenton is the author of the poetry collection ''Clamor'' (Cleveland State University Poetry Center, 2010) which was selected for the 2009 Cleveland State Unive ...

, Lizzie Harris, Rebecca Hazelton, Rebecca Gayle Howell, Chloe Honum, Dora Malech,

Shane McCrae Shane McCrae (born September 22, 1975, Portland, Oregon) is an American poet, and is currently Poetry Editor of '' Image''. McCrae was the recipient of a 2011 Whiting Award, and in 2012 his collection ''Mule'' was a finalist for the Kate Tufts D ...

, Helena Mesa,

Philip Metres Philip Metres is an American writer (poet, translator, scholar, and essayist). His poetry books include ''Shrapnel Maps'', ''Pictures at an Exhibition'', and ''Sand Opera''. He has published poems, essays, and reviews in literary journals and mag ...

, Zach Savich, Sandra Simonds, S.E. Smith, Mathias Svalina, Allison Titus, Liz Waldner, William Waltz, Allison Benis White, Jon Woodward, and Wendy Xu. The authors it publishes frequently go on to win major literary prizes. Poetry Center author

won the 2010

University of Wales The University of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Prifysgol Cymru'') is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff � ...

Dylan Thomas Prize The Dylan Thomas Prize is a leading prize for young writers presented annually. The prize, named in honour of the Welsh writer and poet Dylan Thomas, brings international prestige and a remuneration of £30,000 (~$46,000). It is open to published ...

for her collection ''Clamor''. A

Whiting Writers' Award The Whiting Award is an American award presented annually to ten emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry and plays. The award is sponsored by the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation Mrs. (American English) or Mrs (British English; standard ...

was awarded to Poetry Center author

for his collection ''Mule''. The Cleveland State University Poetry Center was selected by the ''

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'' as one of the 15 independent, small-press publishers that exemplifies "the best qualities of this publishing tradition."Shivani, Ani
''Independence Day: 15 Feisty Small Presses''
''

'' 2 July 2010 The poetry center also hosts
Visiting Writers/Reading Series
for the university community. It is a member of the

Council of Literary Magazines and Presses The Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP) is an American organization of independent literary publishers and magazines. It was founded in 1967 by Robie Macauley, Reed Whittemore (''The Carleton Miscellany,'' ''The New Republic''); Jul ...

, and it
recent titles
are distributed by

Small Press Distribution Small Press Distribution (SPD) is a non-profit literary arts organization located in Berkeley, California. As their name indicates, the core of their mission is to act as an umbrella distributor and marketer for hundreds of smaller literary publi ...

Footnotes

External links

* {{Cleveland State University Small press publishing companies Book publishing companies based in Ohio Cleveland State University 1962 establishments in Ohio

History

Poetry center competitions

Recent and forthcoming publications

Footnotes

Further reading

External links