Our History

For over forty years, the Georgia Poetry Society has sought to increase the enjoyment, composition and performance of poetry across the state.  Founded in Atlanta on August 30, 1979 by Edward Davin Vickers and Charles J. Bruehler, the organization has grown from its thirty charter members to a current membership of approximately 200 poets and supporters of poetry.

Early in its existence the Society began offering contests, established its annual anthology  The Reach of Song, established a newsletter, and began a major emphasis on youth work. These activities remain an integral part of GPS functions.

In 1986 the Georgia Council for the Arts awarded us our first supporting grant. Three years later we instituted the Charles Dickson chapbook competition.  Another chapbook competition was held in 2010 to honor Ed Vickers, resulting in Under A Hundred..

In 1996 substantial monetary support from the Coca Cola Company enabled us to stage the official Coca Cola 1996 Centennial Olympic Games Poetry Contest, the first such competition in modern Olympics history. We published the contest-winning poems that year in a volume titled Poetry in Motion.

In 1999 GPS hosted the convention of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies in Atlanta on the theme “A Peach of a Convention,” drawing nearly 250 attendees from all parts of the country.

In 2004, we celebrated our 100th quarterly meeting, 25 years of service to the Georgia state poetry community.