The Poetry Society of Virginia Centennial Festival

In May 1923, a small group of poets, desirous of fostering and stimulating an interest in poetry in the Commonwealth, met in the Chapel of the Wren Building at the College of William and Mary. There they drew up a constitution and bylaws for the organization and named it The Poetry Society of Virginia. They elected Dr. Charles N. Feidelson to serve as its first president. Since then, the Poetry Society of Virginia – through publications, readings by members and visiting poets, poetry events around the state, contests, workshops, in-school programs, poetry festivals, and other activities – has helped to advance the cause and appreciation of poetry throughout Virginia. Visiting poets have included Robert Frost, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Carl Sandburg, Richard Wilbur, Donald Hall, Charles Wright, and many others. Membership in the society has grown to over four hundred, with about fifteen percent from outside Virginia.

​