Grants for Writing Poetry
- The Academy of American Poets offers various grants and awards to poets. Among them is the Walt Whitman Award, which encourages emerging poets to write and complete their first book. The Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize awards $25,000 to the poet considered by a panel of judges to have written the best book of poetry published that particular year. The only award in this country to encourage a published poet's second book of verse is the James Laughlin Award, which features a $5,000 prize.
- The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) offers grants to writers, including poets and poetry translators. Beginning in 2011, its Art Works grants supports artistic creation, public engagement with art, learning in the arts and strengthening of communities through art. Applicants should decide which of these outcomes is most relevant to their proposed project. Applications are due in March and August. Published poets may also apply for NEA fellowships.
- This family foundation awards grants and fellowships to poets, creative and non-fiction writers. Its literary program supports bringing "attention to the written word through writers and poets and the works they produce." The foundation offers a Texas residency program allowing poets and writers uninterrupted writing time. It offers grants to nonprofit organizations and publishers that use these funds to support upcoming writers and poets.
- The Illinois Arts Council offers grants to individual artists, including poets. Grants between $500 and $750 are awarded in the Individual Artist Professional Development track initiative to support an artist's professional development. The Individual Artist Project track grants up to $2,500 to support an artistic project, but a 25 percent cash match is required. Poets may apply for only one grant annually, and any proposal submitted to the incorrect track is ineligible.