The Witter Bynner Foundation for Poetry, Poetry Grants | Witter Bynner Foundation The Witter Bynner Foundation for Poetry Perpetuating the art of poetry Through a bequest from Witter Bynner in 1972 The Witter Bynner Foundation for Poetry perpetuates the art of poetry. The foundation promotes poetry in American culture and encourages grant proposals that expand awareness of the positive effects of poetry on society. Read More In the more than eight decades of his life he was a tireless member of a rare species in our cultural scene that of the versatile man of letters whose whole working career was given to the act of literature with all its involvements not only in many forms of literary statement but also in Platonian responses to the civil values of free existence. He was an eloquent orator in poetic forms who spoke out for the individual dignity of his fellow men whether in terms of politics popular mores or artistic commitment.