Title: Kentucky State Poetry Society (KSPS) Records, 1966-2012
Primary Creator: Kentucky State Poetry Society (1965-)
Extent: 2.45 Cubic Feet
Date Acquired: 02/12/1988. More info below under Accruals.
Subjects: American poetry. - Kentucky, Kentucky State Poetry Society, Poetry, Modern--20th century., Poets, American - Kentucky, Stuart, Jesse, 1906-1984
Languages: English
The Kentucky State Poetry Society records document the activities of the organization, especially in the first two decades. During that time there are photographs, scrapbooks, news clippings, membership lists and correspondence which show the activities of the group.
The collection includes an almost complete set of Pegasus and the newsletter as well as publications from other related organizations. Also included are records of the poetry contests with annotations by Jesse Stuart on the poems he judged in the 1971 contest. A notebook of biographical information, photographs and manuscript poems by Kentucky poets is also noteworthy.
The Kentucky State Poetry Society (KSPS) grew out of a meeting of the Eastern Kentucky Poetry Society in Ashland, Kentucky in 1965. In 1966 KSPS was accepted by the National Federation of State Poetry Societies. The first annual meeting was at the Henry Clay Hotel in Ashland on October 16, 1967. Since that time the annual meeting has been held during October at various sites in Kentucky. In 1976 Governor Julian Carroll proclaimed October 15th as National Poetry Day.
In 1966 the first Pegasus was printed. At that time the publication consisted of four pages. By 1970 it grew to a much larger periodical and has been issued from two to four times a year. Members also receive a bi-monthly newsletter giving news of publications and various markets for members' poetry.
Membership in KSPS is not restricted to Kentuckians nor is age a barrier. In the early seventies there were over five hundred members.
An annual contest is held each year containing more than thirty categories. In addition a book fair is held each year at B. Dalton Book Store in Oxmoor Center in Louisville. KSPS continues to prosper and grow. The collection of publications generated by members is housed in University Archives at Eastern Kentucky University.
American poetry. - Kentucky
Kentucky State Poetry Society
Poetry, Modern--20th century.
Poets, American - Kentucky
Stuart, Jesse, 1906-1984
