The Center for Creative Writing and Poetry

The Poetry Center is excited to share updates from the recently completed period of strategic planning led by Professor Nancy Pearson. First, we are shifting the name of the poetry center to the more inclusive Center for Creative Writing and Poetry (CCWP). Dr. Maureen McVeigh Trainor is currently serving as the Director of the CCWP.  We are excited for the CCWP to thrive under Maureen's leadership and to bring together the great work that our creative writing and poetry faculty have been doing - all while providing more focused ways to support our students, faculty, and the community. 

The Center for Creative Writing and Poetry will continue the Spencer Poetry Awards (e.g., Donald Justice Poetry Prize,  Spencer Undergraduate Poetry Awards, and Wil Mills Chapbook Award), invite poets and creative writers to share their work with students and the community, and support the growth and development of the poets and creative writers in our midst. 

Please continue to check back to this page and the Poetry Facebook for updates and news about upcoming events.

 

The CCWP offers a variety of programs and activities that help expand its mission of bringing poetry to an ever-widening audience.

Awards and Activities

  • The Spencer Poetry Awards, including:
    • the Donald Justice Poetry Prize
    • the Iris N. Spencer Undergraduate Poetry Award
    • the Myong Cha Son Haiku Award
    • the Wil Mills Chapbook Award
    • the Rhina P. Espaillat Award
    • the Sonnet Poetry Award
    • the Villanelle Poetry Award
  • Poet-in-residence
  • Poetry reading series
  • Mini-conferences on topics related to poetic craft

The West Chester University Center for Creative Writing and Poetry offers an active, interesting, and diverse slate of activities. We invite you to join us and discover the joys of poetry.

Photo of Guy D'Annolfo, Ernest Hilbert, Patricia Smith, and Sunni Wilkinson

Spring 2024: Wil Mills winner, Guy D’Annolfo; judge and resident poet, Ernest Hilbert; Donald Justice judge and keynote speaker, Patricia Smith; and DJ winner, Sunni Wilkinson are all smiles at the Pop-Up Poetry Festival. Photo Credit: Melissa Reitnour

 

Poetry Center Mission Statement

The West Chester University Poetry Center was created in 2000 to further the study and appreciation of poetry. The goals of the Center are to:

  • provide the nation's finest instruction in the diverse traditional techniques of poetry.

  • provide an international forum for the discussion of poetic form and prosody.

  • train teachers in the art of teaching poetry and poetic form.

  • foster the necessary dialogue between practicing poets and critics in a culture that too often separates them.

  • recognize poetic achievement through the Spencer Awards.

  • illustrate the important connections between contemporary poetry and fine printing.

 

Poetry Center Advisory Board

The West Chester University CCWP Advisory Board supports the overall objectives of the Center, including the Spencer Poetry Awards, through promotional and fund raising activities.

Board members are identified and recommended by the members of the Center for Creative Writing and Poetry Advisory Board and the Program Director of the CCWP in consultation with the West Chester University Advancement Office. All appointments to the Board are approved and made by the President of West Chester University. The Board is composed of members/advocates of the arts community, University alumni, and local and national business and civic leaders.

Current Poetry Center Board Members

  • Kean Spencer, President
  • Emily Culbertson, WCU Foundation Director of Development
  • Rhina Espaillat
  • Kat Gilbert
  • Dana Gioia
  • Jeff Hardin
  • Kyle Spencer
  • Chris Vogt-Hennessy

 

Fortnight of Festivities