Thank you for visiting the website of the North Carolina Poetry Society. The NCPS was founded in 1932 as an all-volunteer organization for poets and friends of poetry. We now have over 560 members from North Carolina – and numerous locations nationwide and internationally.
The Poetry Society holds regular meetings four times a year. January and March meetings are held on-line, via Zoom, to allow attendance from all over North Carolina. The May meeting is held in Southern Pines, North Carolina, at the Weymouth Center for the Arts and Humanities, and the September meeting location is determined yearly.
Our meeting dates are on selected Saturdays of January, March, May, and September, when we gather for a day of poetry and programs from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. At our meetings poets enjoy a variety of programs, including readings, panels, workshops, and special presentations. These quarterly meetings offer opportunities to deepen and hone the practice of our craft. We seek to feature a diversity of poets in programming. Meetings are free and open to any interested persons.
The Poetry Society offers many programs and competitions to its members:
The NCPS sponsors annual contests for adults and students, with cash prizes, award certificates, and publication for the winners. Contest awards are presented at the May meeting. Most of the adult contests are free to members; there is a nominal charge for others.
The annual Poet Laureate Award is judged by the state’s poet laureate.
Pinesong, the anthology of award-winning poems, is published annually, providing winners deserved recognition. Members receive a free copy.
Workshops across the state offer poets an opportunity to gather for instruction, camaraderie, and networking.
The NCPS newsletter, Pine Whispers, is published three times a year to keep members informed about issues under discussion, upcoming contests and workshops, and other North Carolina poetry-related news and opportunities.
The annual Brockman-Campbell Book Award recognizes the best book published by a North Carolina poet. The award is presented at the September meeting. The judges have included, among others, Mary Oliver, William Stafford, Maxine Kumin, and Billy Collins.
The annual Lena M. Shull Book Award selects for publication the best full-length unpublished poetry manuscript by a poet living in North Carolina. The wining manuscript is published by St. Andrews University Press.
The annual Susan Laughter Meyers Poetry Fellowship is awarded to a writer residing in North or South Carolina. The Fellowship awards a stipend as well as provides a week of residency at the Weymouth Center for the Arts and Humanities in Southern Pines, North Carolina.
In recent years we have grown as an organization and expanded our outreach:
In fall 1999 our anthology of 20th century North Carolina poetry, Word and Witness, was published by Carolina Academic Press. Featuring poems by 134 poets, this long-awaited publication was celebrated with statewide readings and performances by the Touring Theatre Ensemble of North Carolina.
In January 2003, to increase value to our members throughout North Carolina, the NCPS Board voted to host a meeting each year in the east and west of the state. For over a decade, we held meetings in conjunction with Walking into April at Barton College in Wilson and at Poetry Day Hickory in the western part of the state. We sponsor a monthly poetry reading series at McIntyre’s Bookstore in Fearrington Village, located between Chapel Hill and Pittsboro.
Also in 2003, the NCPS Board approved the establishment of the Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet Series. Three distinguished North Carolina poets are selected annually to mentor poets in the eastern, central, and western regions of the state. Now in its 7th year, this program is thriving as a significant expansion of NCPS outreach.
We invite you to join our organization. Click on the Membership Page and either join online or print the downloadable form and mail your check. You will enjoy the benefits of an organization that celebrates poets and poetry in a multitude of ways.
The North Carolina Poetry Society is closely affiliated with other arts organizations in North Carolina, including Arts North Carolina, the North Carolina Writers’ Network, the North Carolina Haiku Society, and the Nazim Hikmet Festival. We encourage you to support them as well, as their efforts align with our mission to support, promote, and celebrate poetry in North Carolina.
To read the NCPS Constitution, click here.
To read the NCPS By-Laws, click here.
The NCPS Policy against Harassment is available here.
The NCPS Policy regarding Conflict of Interest is available here.