- A99 -

This group is formed to gather money from those who have it in amounts excess to their needs and disburse it among poets and philosophers who lack personal finance or wherewithal to accomplish small material projects in the society at large. The committees money will be used to sustain artists and their projects in times of stress promote freedom of expression where such expression is threatened by social prejudice or outside force publish works of art which have no immediate commercial vehicles for publicity aid sick wounded or nervous creative souls who might otherwise be financially isolated participate in projects for altering the consciousness of the nation toward a more humane spirit of adhesiveness prophesied by Whitman give joy to writers and artists who wish to escape unpleasant circumstances and travel or meditate help unlucky poets and painters avoid confinement in jails and madhouses or ease their return to freedom and otherwise aid in spiritual emergencies. Allen Ginsberg March 26 1966 Committee on Poetry A Brief History The Committee On Poetry Inc. was established in 1966 as a nonprofit arts primarily literary grant giving organization with three objectives first to assist artists in the completion of literary work second to help actualize special projects such as a publication or a performance third to provide emergency grantsinaid to artists.