Poets House Reopens
Poets House, a literary repository and poetry library in Lower Manhattan, has reopened its doors after a 30-month hiatus. “We are thrilled to welcome our community back into the halls of Poets House,” said executive director Rob Arnold. “To see and feel the space come alive with people reading and writing poetry brings a warmth into our home. It’s so wonderful to finally get back to the heart of our mission: being a home for poetry and the discovery of poetry.”
In August 2021, the space, at 10 River Terrace, which had been closed since the Covid pandemic began, was inundated by a flood from an apartment above it. The two floors of Poets House were damaged extensively. After $2.7 million in renovations that hardened the space against future floods—either from above or from the Hudson River—Poets House is once again open and sharing its 80,000-book library.
Poets House is also stepping up to help a peer organization, the legendary Nuyorican Poets Café (located in the East Village), which itself is closing for a three-year, $24 million renovation project. Poets House is marking this transition by hosting an exhibit of memorabilia from that group’s archives.
This partnership between two of New York’s preeminent poetry centers kicked off February 9 with a party hosted by Caridad De La Luz “La Bruja,” live salsa music by the Combo Rican Ensemble of Puerto Rico, open mic, and a reading by Nuyorican poet Elisabet Velasquez.
During the week, Poets House is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 11am to 7pm and Saturdays from 11am to 6pm.