The Poetry Society of Tennessee (PST) is a non-profit state-level poetry organization affiliated with the National Federation of State Poetry Societies. In 2020 it has three affiliate chapters in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. The society hosts conferences and maintains award and educational programs related to poetry.

History

The Poetry Society of Tennessee was founded by poets in

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

in 1953, and is recognized as the founding society in the

State of Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

by the National Federation of State Poetry Societies (NFSPS). Since then, the organization has expanded to three affiliate chapters in West Tennessee, East Tennessee and

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state's ...

Activities

The Poetry Society of Tennessee hosts a number of annual conferences, festivals and events and publishes the ''Tennessee Voices'' anthology annually. It also offers the NFSPS Critiquing Challenges, a discussion and educational opportunity for poet development. The organization sponsors a number of contests that provide monthly and annual awards. The youth contests are open to all Tennessee students. Student award categories are: *Elementary (Grades 2–5) *Middle School (Grades 6–8) *High School (Grades 9–12) *Eye Poems (all age groups)

References

External links

*{{Official, https://www.poetrytennessee.org Poetry organizations Literary societies 1953 establishments in the United States Non-profit organizations based in Tennessee 501(c)(3) organizations