Poetry Society's state funding slashed after row

 

The intellectual Cyril Connolly once described poets as "jackals fighting over an empty well", in reference to their bickering over limited resources. Yesterday it became clear just how bloodthirsty the jackals have become, and just how little water there is left in the well.

The Arts Council has indefinitely suspended public funds to the Poetry Society, the charity whose aim is "to promote the study, use and enjoyment of poetry". It also publishes the influential magazine Poetry Review.

The suspension is pending the resolution of an ongoing management spat at the 102-year-old organisation which has seen a swathe of resignations and a general meeting last Friday attended by hundreds of angry members, who issued a vote of no confidence in the board of trustees.

Leading figures at the society have criticised its management and have panned the Arts Council's decision – taken earlier this year – to award it an extra £100,000 in funding from April 2012.

The problems revolve around a power struggle between two senior members, one of whom has now resigned. On Friday the society said there had been a "dysfunctional relationship" between its former director, Judith Palmer, and the current editor of Poetry Review, Fiona Sampson. It said Ms Palmer had been overworked, and needed to delegate more.

The society's solution was to ask Ms Sampson to report directly to them instead of Ms Palmer. The latter resigned in outrage, and the society's finance director Paul Ranford, president Jo Shapcott, vice-president Gwyneth Lewis, trustee Robyn Bolam and chairman Peter Carpenter all followed suit. The organisation now says its board of trustees will be replaced in September.

The broadcaster Joan Bakewell, a Poetry Society honorary member, said: "I do feel sad that nice people who love words have fallen victim to the world's woes. I suspect poets should know better. I feel sad that many small poetry publishers had their funding axed earlier this year. Maybe the Arts Council shouldn't have put all its books in one basket."

An Arts Council spokeswoman confirmed that the July funding payment was "in abeyance" until the situation improved.

John Simmons, who is on the Poetry Society's Board of Trustees, confirmed that in the absence of the Arts Council's £78,499 quarterly grant payment, the Society was eating into its limited cash reserves of around £100,000 and was considering seeking an overdraft facility from its bank.

A Poetry Society spokeswoman said: "The last few months have been difficult for everyone but it is important now to look forward to an orderly transition to a new Board at the AGM and to work to maintain and strengthen the Poetry Society's position as a leading arts organisation." Sampson was unavailable for comment.

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
Career Services

Day In a Page

For men only: A pilgrimage to Mount Athos in Greece

For men only: A pilgrimage to Mount Athos

On a secluded peninsula in north-east Greece lies an enclave that's way off the tourist map, especially for women...
48 Hours In: Faro

48 Hours In: Faro

More than just the gateway to the Algarve, this city has much to tempt you off the beach.
Here, the coast is always clear: Celebrating sixty years of Pembrokeshire's National Park

60 years of Pembrokeshire's National Park

Mick Webb reveals a land of puffins, tanks and Hollywood blockbusters.
Free Range: Meet the designers of tomorrow

Free Range

Meet the artists of the future
Feeding a hungry world – or meddling with laws of nature?

Feeding a hungry world – or meddling with laws of nature?

As scientists at Rothamsted's GM trials plead with activists not to sabotage their work, Michael McCarthy visits the battle field
Monkey meat that could be behind the next HIV

Monkey meat that could be behind the next HIV

Deep in Cameroon's rainforests, poachers are killing primates for food. Evan Williams reports from Yokadouma on a practice that could create a pandemic
Catcalls, whistles, groping: just another day for a young woman

Catcalls, whistles, groping: just another day for a young woman

Government urged to take abuse more seriously as London study shows 41 per cent are harassed
Jailing of Maori separatists stirs colonial-era resentment

Jailing of Maori separatists stirs colonial-era resentment

Militant Tuhoe tribe members defiant amid claims race relations had been set back 100 years
Fatal crashes are cyclists' fault, says Boris

Fatal crashes are cyclists' fault, says Boris

Mayor condemned for saying that two-thirds of riders killed on the road were at fault in accidents
Move over Brangelina, this night belongs to Kingston Bagpuize

Move over Brangelina, this night belongs to Kingston Bagpuize

Unlikely community movie beats the stars to get prized Leicester Square premiere
Solved after 33 years? Case of first missing boy shown on milk carton

Solved after 33 years?

Case of first missing boy shown on milk carton
Like mamma used to make: Pizza Pilgrims is proving a word-of mouth sensation

Pizza Pilgrims: Like mamma used to make

A van dispensing purist pizzas is proving a word-of mouth sensation
The supper on its uppers: Why we need to learn to entertain lavishly for less

Supper on its uppers: Entertain lavishly for less

Dinner parties are buckling under the pressures of food snobbery and belt-tightening...
The 10 best summer cookbooks

The 10 best summer cookbooks

From Claudia Roden's The Food of Spain to The Art of Cooking with Vegetables by Alain Passard...
Gorgeous Georgian: Now we can enjoy the cuisine of Russia's fiery neighbour nearer home

Gorgeous Georgian cuisine

The food of Russia's fiery neighbour is among the world's most inventive and original