Gramercy Park in Manhattan in New York County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Poetry Society of America

Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, July 27, 2017

1. Poetry Society of America Marker

Inscription. Founded October 1910

First public meeting of PSA
was held in this building.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Arts, Letters, Music. A significant historical month for this entry is October 1910.

Location. 40° 44.268′ N, 73° 59.197′ W. Marker is in Manhattan, New York, in New York County. It is in Gramercy Park. Marker is on Gramercy Park South west of Irving Place, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 15 Gramercy Park South, New York NY 10003, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. National Arts Club (here, next to this marker); a different marker also named The National Arts Club (a few steps from this marker); Gramercy Park (within shouting distance of this marker); Robert Henri (within shouting distance of this marker); Gramercy Park Historic District (within shouting distance of this marker); James Harper (within shouting distance of this marker); 105 East 19th Street (within shouting distance of this marker); Cyrus West Field (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Manhattan.

Also see . . .
1. Poetry Society of America(Wikipedia). The Poetry Society of America is a literary organization
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founded in 1910 by poets, editors, and artists including Witter Bynner. It is the oldest poetry organization in the United States. Past members of the society have included such renowned writers as Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Marianne Moore, and Wallace Stevens. Current members include John Ashbery, Louise Glück, Rita Dove, Stanley Kunitz, Robert Pinsky, Molly Peacock, Billy Collins and James Tate....In 1910, the Poetry Society of America held its first official meeting in the National Arts Club in Manhattan, which is still home to the organization today. Jesse Rittenhouse, a founding member and Secretary of the PSA, documented the founding of the Poetry Society of America in her autobiography My House of Life writing "It was not, however, to be an organization in the formal sense of the word, but founded upon the salon idea, a place where poets would gather to read and discuss their work and that of their contemporaries, the group to be united largely through the hospitality of our hosts at whose apartments it was proposed we should continue to meet...When, after much enthusiastic speech-making, a committee was appointed to retire and discuss the details, I had no hesitancy in saying—though at the risk of seeming ungrateful to our hosts—that it was much too big an idea to be narrowed down to a social function, into which it would inevitably
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, July 27, 2017

2. Poetry Society of America Marker - Wide View
The marker is visible here, just to the left of the entrance of the National Arts Club.
deteriorate, and if the Society were developed at all, it ought to be along national lines, and should meet in a public rather than a private place." ....Within the first few years, poets such as Amy Lowell, Ezra Pound and W.B. Yeats regularly attended meetings. (Submitted on August 3, 2017.)

2. The Samuel J. Tilden House -- No. 15 Gramercy Park. "Daytonian in Manhattan" entry. (Submitted on April 12, 2020, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)

Credits. This page was last revised on January 31, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 3, 2017, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 234 times since then and 16 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 3, 2017, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.