This essay is the fourth in a series for National Poetry Month on Pittsburgh’s literary history and the role of poetry in public published in conjunction with the International Poetry Forum.
In 2012, Mary Oliver—winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and alumna of the local International Poetry Forum reading series—introduced her collection A Thousand Mornings in a reading at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. The book, Oliver told her audience, was from her “new publisher, Penguin.” On the word “Penguin,” Oliver grinned, glanced up, and offered a half-joking, sidelong “Hurrah!” to the applauding crowd.
Literary publishing is sometimes mapped in terms of tiers, stratified by scale of production rather than quality of the text. The “top” tier encompasses the New York trade publishers—Penguin/Random House, Harper Collins, and the like, which can publish thousands (even tens of thousands) of unique titles each year. The middle tier comprises university and indie presses, tighter operations that may publish something in the direction of five to thirty-five titles per year. The smallest tier includes the burgeoning category of micro-presses and smaller indie or self-publishing projects, which may produce a few titles or occasional projects annually.
As Oliver’s half-joke suggests, there are obvious economic advantages to releasing a book with a major trade publisher. And indeed, many of our most celebrated living writers publish through the larger presses. At the same time, and to reiterate, scale does not equal quality, and most of the most interesting literature being published today comes (for my money) from smaller publishing outfits. This is especially true of university presses and indie houses, where lower sales pressures (relative to the trade publisher) can allow more space for fresh voices and experimentation.
In this middle category, Pittsburgh is unusually strong—perhaps the strongest in the country after New York (In the third category, too, but that’s the subject of another article). I am considerably partial here—I direct the International Poetry Forum and edit the poetry series at Carnegie Mellon University Press—but I’d happily stake my reputation on the claim.
Not every university press will publish literature; not every university press that publishes literature will publish poetry. Pittsburgh is unusual in that it hosts two university presses with their own flagship poetry series. Since 1968, the Pitt Poetry Series of the University of Pittsburgh Press has been one of the country’s most respected publishers of debut and seasoned poets. Carnegie Mellon University Press followed in 1972, originally as Three Rivers Press. Autumn House Press, a local indie press named best small press in the country at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs last year, has also been inclined towards poetry since its creation in 1998. This trio is bolstered by an ever-evolving landscape of smaller indie publishers, as well as the dozens of literary magazines, journals, zines, and other experimental publication projects that call and have called Pittsburgh home (Littsburgh offers a growing list here).
Each of Pittsburgh’s mid-sized presses has at least one major claim to fame. Autumn House has published the debut collection of former U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón, as well as works by poets like Gerald Stern, Patricia Dobler, and Cameron Barnett. Carnegie Mellon has published poets like Terrance Hayes, Cornelius Eady, Mary Karr, and Ted Kooser; it also published Rita Dove’s Pulitzer-winning Thomas and Beulah, making it one of only thirty-odd presses in the country to produce a Pulitzer-winning poetry collection.
A survey of Pittsburgh’s literary landscape shows that us the city’s publication efforts have always been inclined towards poetry. The full list of presses and their accolades would continue for pages; I can only recommend every Pittsburgh poet to take an afternoon to peruse the websites of local presses (especially the smaller ones). For the time being, and since this series of articles celebrates National Poetry Month and the history of International Poetry Forum, I want to highlight a few selections from the early days of the Pitt Poetry Series.
From 1967 until 1976, the International Poetry Forum and the University of Pittsburgh Press hosted a pair of collaborative awards—the United States Award and International Award—chosen by a jury of poet-judges including Gwendolyn Brooks, Robert Penn Warren, Richard Wilbur, and May Swenson. The awards were presented by the International Poetry Forum and included manuscript publication through the University of Pittsburgh Press, thus launching the Pitt Poetry Series. Of the nine International Award winners, two (Odysseus Elytis and Tomas Tranströmer) went on to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. The United States Award brought Larry Levis into the national spotlight with Wrecking Crew (1971).
During this time, counting the prize collections and others projects, the International Poetry Forum and the University of Pittsburgh Press collaborated in publishing nearly fifty books. Other titles to appear in the early days of the series include an translations of Adonis (later hailed as the “most important” contemporary Arabic-language poet by the Goethe Prize jury) as well as Michael S. Harper’s Dear John Dear Coltrane (1970), Norman Dubie’s Alehouse Sonnets (1971), John Balaban’s After Our War (1974), Archibald MacLeish’s The Great American Fourth of July Parade (1975), an anthology of Macedonian poetry (1977), and more.
In the late 1970s, the International Poetry Forum branched off to develop its own, limited-run poetry series under its Byblos Editions imprint (1978–1986). The Byblos series opened with a book by Marco Antonio Montes de Oca (with an introduction by Octavio Paz) and included works by U.S. Poet Laureate William Jay Smith, Spanish Nobel Laureate Vicente Aleixandre, and Adonis. Pitt continued (and continues) to publish dozens of the country’s greats: Billy Collins, Sharon Olds, Jim Daniels, Toi Derricotte, Ted Kooser, Ross Gay, Lynn Emanuel, Jan Beatty, Denis Duhamel, Etheridge Knight, Reginald Shepherd, Dean Young, Richard Blanco, Quan Barry, Robert Bly, Paisley Rekdal, Joy Priest, and many more.
This is, again, to highlight just a slice of Pittsburgh’s publishing output. Adding in poets who were born in Pittsburgh—Gertrude Stein, James Laughlin, Jack Gilbert, Annie Dillard, Joseph Bathanti—and the hundreds others who have lived here, worked here, read in local series and workshops like Hemingway’s, Pittsburgh Poetry Exchange, Pittsburgh Poetry Collective, and beyond—one could easily fashion an MFA degree’s worth of syllabi solely based on Pittsburgh poets.
Next week, the International Poetry Forum will host the world’s first public reading of UK Poet Laureate Simon Armitage’s new Gilgamesh translation at Heinz Memorial Chapel (April 28, 2026).
