Poetry Book Society

Posted: 31 March 2011

First of all, we'd like to thank all our members and supporters over the last 58 years - the PBS has come a long way since T S Eliot and friends, along with the Arts Council, first set out our statement of intent: ‘to propagate the art of poetry'. We are stunned to have lost our funding after the Arts Council's support over many years, which threatens our continued existence as an organisation which supports poetry and poetry readers through the Poetry Book Society itself, our two websites and the T S Eliot Prize.

Despite yesterday's shocking announcement about the termination of our regular funding in a year's time, there is still plenty that can be done:

Please let Arts Council England know the extent to which their decision will affect you as a PBS member and poetry lover. You can do this by emailing the Arts Council's Chair, Dame Liz Forgan, (chiefexecutive@artscouncil.org.uk) and the Director of Literature in the London office, Nick McDowell (nick.mcdowell@artscouncil.org.uk), and please do copy in the Culture Secretary Ed Vaizey (vaizeye@parliament.uk) and us (chris@poetrybooks.co.uk).

You can make a difference immediately by buying a membership or a book or, if you haven't already, by recommending PBS membership to a friend. Your continued support will help us to survive.

Finally, we have set up a petition online here. Please take the time to sign this and pass it on to your friends. Let's send a clear message to the Arts Council that the PBS and its members are absolutely vital if there is to be an audience for poetry in the future.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and pledging your support - we look forward to continuing to receive this in the years to come.

Categories: Poetry News

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