Our History
In 1964, Dr. Samuel Hazo invited W.H. Auden to give a poetry reading in Pittsburgh, PA. In his introductory speech, Hazo imagined a reading series that would bring the world’s best poets to Pittsburgh—particularly poets who emphasized poetry as a spoken art form. Present in the audience was Theodore L. Hazlett Jr., then head of the A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust. After Auden’s reading, Hazlett approached Hazo to make his vision a reality.
In 1966, the International Poetry Forum launched under the initial sponsorship of Carnegie Library and the Mellon Trust. The inaugural reading featured Archibald MacLeish at the Carnegie Lecture Hall on Oct. 19, 1966. The nonprofit organization soon grew to become one of the most significant independent poetry programs in the world, hosting nine Nobel Laureates, 14 Academy Award recipients, 27 U.S. Poet Laureates, 47 Pulitzer Prize winners, and hundreds of other writers, artists, musicians, actors, and public figures to offer poetry readings and educational programs in Pittsburgh.
Historic venues for the IPF have included Carnegie Music Hall, Carnegie Lecture Hall, and various venues in Pittsburgh’s Cultural District. For a decade, the IPF also hosted a series of events at Wolf Trap National Park and the Smithsonian Institution as a member of the Smithsonian Resident Associate Program. The Forum was awarded the 1990 James Smithson Bicentennial Medal by the Smithsonian for its contributions to the arts, making it the only literary organization in the country to ever receive that honor.
Hazo retired from the International Poetry Forum after 43 years of leadership, placing the nonprofit on indefinite hiatus in 2009. In 2023, Hazo announced the revival of the IPF, naming new leadership and outlining plans for a relaunch of programming in 2024.
Audio recordings of IPF alumni—including figures such as Seamus Heaney, Octavio Paz, Gwendolyn Brooks, Elizabeth Bishop, Kurt Vonnegut, Jorge Luis Borges, Mary Oliver, China Achebe, Grace Kelly, Gregory Peck, and James Earl Jones—are archived through the digital collections of Carlow University.
Our Team
Jake Grefenstette, Ph.D.
President & Executive Director
Jake Grefenstette holds a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, an M.A. from the University of Chicago, and an M.Phil. from Peking University in Beijing. He completed undergraduate studies at the University of Notre Dame and the University of Oxford. A scholar of Romantic literature and philosophy, he has instructed undergraduates at Saint Vincent College and the University of Cambridge, where he is Senior Non-Resident Member of King’s College. Grefenstette has also published and worked on film, including a “Special Thanks” credit on the extended cut of Terence Malick’s The Tree of Life.
Growing up in Pittsburgh, Dr. Grefenstette’s love of literature was shaped by a generation of local educators who benefited from the International Poetry Forum’s poetry programs and outreach. In 2023, Hazo appointed Grefenstette as the second executive director of the IPF.
Samuel Hazo, Ph.D.
Founder & Director Emeritus
Samuel John Hazo was born in Pittsburgh, PA, in 1928. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, he completed his Ph.D. at the University of Pittsburgh in 1957 and founded the International Poetry Forum in 1966. Hazo served as the first Poet Laureate of Pennsylvania from 1993-2003 and is now McAnulty Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Duquesne University.
Dr. Hazo is the author of nearly sixty books, including the recent volume, The Less Said, the Truer: New and Selected Poems, 2016–2022 (Syracuse University Press). Hazo’s many accolades include the Forbes Medal for Outstanding Cultural Contributions to Western Pennsylvania (1987), The Maurice English Award for Poetry (2003), and twelve honorary doctorates, including one from his alma mater, the University of Notre Dame.
Board of Directors
To be announced