POETRY COALITION FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM: CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

POETRY COALITION FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR FELLOWS

The Poetry Center, San Francisco State University, a founding member of the Poetry Coalition, is accepting applications for a paid Poetry Coalition Fellowship position. This position is 20 hours per week from September 9, 2024 to June 30, 2025. The total stipend is $20,000 plus $1,100 toward health care. Applications accepted through July 3, 2024.

The Poetry Coalition is a national alliance of some thirty organizations dedicated to working together to promote the value poets bring to our culture and the important contribution poetry makes in the lives of people of all ages and backgrounds. Members are nonprofit organizations whose primary mission is to promote poets and poetry, and/or multi-genre literary organizations that serve disabled poets and poets of specific racial, ethnic, or gender identities, backgrounds, or communities.

All members present poets at live events. Each year, members present programming across the country on a common theme or topic of social importance. The Poetry Coalition is coordinated by the Academy of American Poets and we are grateful to the Mellon Foundation for its support of this work.

The Poetry Coalition Fellowship Program, sponsoring 10-month fellowships with member organizations across the country, is a three-year program. The goals of this are to help:

• diversify the leadership of the nonprofit literary field by encouraging more inclusion of individuals from under-represented communities;
• develop future literary leaders regardless of educational background;
• introduce interested people to nonprofit literary arts management, fundraising, programming, and editorial work, providing useful experiences toward seeking jobs and inspiring them to consider working in the literary field; and
• increase the capacity of our member organizations by having additional assistance.

Paid fellowships will not “level the playing field." Opportunity in our country is not equally distributed across class, ethnic, gender, and racial lines. And we alone cannot erase and undo the biases, barriers, discrimination, and prejudice that exist in our country. But we hope poetry organizations can be out front in building equity and inclusivity in literary arts organizations and spaces.

POETRY COALITION FELLOW POSITION DESCRIPTION

HOST ORGANIZATION MISSION: The Poetry Center at San Francisco State University presents and documents the work of outstanding contemporary poets and related artists, creating and preserving original new and historic audio and video recordings, while assuring public awareness of and access to live performances and archival resources. Please visit poetry.sfsu.edu to learn more about The Poetry Center and its programs.  

POSITION OVERVIEW: The fellow will work with the Marcus Endowed Chair at The Poetry Center to help plan, promote, present, and document programs, include public readings and talks. The position also involves strategizing ways to expand the visibility of the Poetry Center Archive of recordings for multiple audiences (students, scholars, general public). The fellow will engage in helping envision a future for The Poetry Center at a time of major transition.

FELLOW RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Committing to 20 hours per week for the entire ten-month fellowship
• Adhering to rules and policies of San Francisco State University as appropriate
• Assisting with any of the following:

          ➢ Community outreach
          ➢ Marketing and promotion, including materials development
          ➢ Grant writing and/or fundraising
          ➢ Content production for websites or social media
          ➢ Programming live events, such as poetry readings and related performances and talks
          ➢ General administration

• Attending and participating in meetings, including ad-hoc meetings with other Poetry Coalition fellows and with leaders to foster community, professional development, and create a peer learning group
• Participating in the Poetry Coalition’s professional development sessions
• Completing evaluations at the end of the fellowship year

FELLOW QUALIFICATIONS:

• Passion for poetry and familiarity with and/or knowledge of contemporary poets
• Interest in literary arts programming, administration, and management
• Demonstrated experience in a number of the areas listed above
• Ability to work both on-site at SF State campus and remotely

Note: We welcome applicants who are engaged in the literary arts in a variety of capacities, including people currently enrolled in or recently awarded an MFA Creative Writing degree.

TO APPLY: Please submit a cover letter, resume, and 2–3 references to poetry@sfsu.edu with subject line "Poetry Coalition Fellowship Applicaton." No calls please. Applications accepted through July 3, 2024.

San Francisco State is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against persons on the basis of race, religion, color, ancestry, age, disability, genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, medical condition, National origin, sex, sexual orientation, covered veteran status, or any other protected status.  Reasonable accommodations will be provided for qualified applicants with disabilities who self-disclose by contacting the Senior Human Resources Manager.