Title Page | Collection Summary | Biographical/Organizational Note | Scope and Content | Arrangement
Administrative History
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1936 | Chair of Poetry in the English Language at the Library of Congress endowed by Archer M. Huntington through the Huntington Fund; funding continued also through public donations |
| 1937, July 1 | Joseph Auslander appointed first Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress |
| 1943 | Poetry Archives collected by Auslander transferred to the Manuscript Division Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature at the Library of Congress established |
| 1944 | Fellows of the Library of Congress in American Letters established by Allen Tate |
| 1945 | Library of Congress published Sixty American Poets, 1896-1944, selected, with preface and critical notes, by Allen Tate, the chair of poetry. A preliminary check list by Frances Cheney Robert Penn Warren compiled bibliography of American poetry from 1860 to 1910 entitled "Poets of the Golden Age" |
| 1946 | Bollingen Foundation bestowed grant for preparing five albums of twenty-five 78 rpm records for first series of Twentieth Century Poetry in English; a later grant was given for a second series |
| 1949 | Ezra Pound selected by Fellows of the Library of Congress in American Letters to receive Bollingen Prize for Poetry |
| 1950 | Poetry Room established in the Thomas Jefferson Building |
| circa 1953-1974 | Roy P. Basler managed the poetry programs until his retirement |
| 1957 | Fellows of the Library of Congress in American Letters reorganized into Honorary Fellows in American Letters |
| circa 1973 | Programs featuring readings by two poets initiated |
| 1975 | John C. Broderick succeeded Roy P. Basler as chief of the Manuscript Division and assumed responsibility for poetry activities |
| 1979 | Honorary Fellows in American Letters replaced by twenty-five member Council of Scholars; Stanley Kunitz, whose term ended in 1982, was the last Honorary Fellow in American Letters John C. Broderick appointed Assistant Librarian for Research Services with oversight of the Poetry Office |
| 1985, Dec. 20 | Congress passed Public Law 99-194 renaming the position of Consultant in Poetry as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry effective Jan. 3, 1986 |
| 1986 | Robert Penn Warren appointed first Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry |
| 1990 | Poetry Office renamed Poetry and Literature Center Prosser Gifford named director of the Office of Scholarly Programs in the Cultural Affairs service unit overseeing the Poetry and Literature Center and Council of Scholars |