Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Preferred Citation

Poetry Society of Virginia records, 1922-2018, # M 53, Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Va.

Acquisition Information

The collection has been donated to the Special Collections and Archives Department in several sections over the years, beginning in 1967.

Biographical / Historical

The Poetry Society of Virginia was founded in 1923 at the College of William and Mary by a small group of university faculty members and other Virginia poets. The organization seeks to promote the writing, study, and appreciation of poetry through generating publications, sponsoring a number of writing contests, and holding a variety of events across the state. The Society also plays a role in the selection process of the Virginia Poet Laureate.

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of materials created and acquired by members of the Poetry Society of Virginia and document the activities of the organization. Contents date from 1922 to 2018, with the bulk of the collection dating from the 1970s to the 2010s. Materials include annual contest files, student contest files, executive committee records, correspondence, membership lists, newsletters, event files, fliers, bylaws, information about individual poets, poems, and printouts from the organization's website.

Arrangement

The collection is divided into five series: Series 1: Administrative records, 1937-2018; Series 2: Correspondence, 1922-2013; Series 3: Program files, 1928-2018; Series 4: Publicity materials, 1946-2011; and Series 5: Poet files, 1926-2016

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Poetry -- Societies, etc.
• Poets, American -- Virginia.