Cleveland State University Poetry Center was originally established in 1962 at the former Fenn College of Engineering to promote poetry through readings and community outreach. In 1971, it expanded its mission to become a national non-profit independent poetry press under the auspices of the Cleveland State University Department of English, and has since published over one-hundred-fifty titles. Th
e Poetry Center has retained its focus on publishing collections of contemporary poetry by established and emerging authors, while preserving its original legacy of providing educational outreach to the literary community of Northeast Ohio and maintaining a regular poetry reading series which now brings an average of fifteen poets a year from across the country to give public readings at Cleveland State University. The Poetry Center is committed to acquiring, through first-book and open-book competitions, stylistically distinctive and skillfully crafted collections from an aesthetically diverse range of authors. The Poetry Center is proud to have published works by such poets as David Baker, Beckian Fritz Goldberg, David Kirby, Thomas Lux, Thylias Moss, Claudia Rankine, Tim Seibles, and Franz Wright. Recent and forthcoming titles include collections by John Bradley, Lily Brown, Elyse Fenton, Emily Kendal Frey, Rebecca Hazelton, Rebecca Gayle Howell, Dora Malech, Shane McCrae, Helena Mesa, Phillip Metres, Zach Savich, Sandra Simonds, Mathias Svalina, Allison Titus, Liz Waldner, William D. The Poetry Center also serves as an educational resource for the undergraduate, MA, and MFA students at Cleveland State not only through its reading series but also by providing internship opportunities and involving students in both editorial and production aspects of literary publishing.
