International Poetry Forum

The International Poetry Forum (IPF) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1966 by Samuel John Hazo in Pittsburgh, PA. Hazo's original vision for the Forum was to promote the art of spoken poetry and to create a space where “poetry could speak for itself in a public setting.” The IPF has hosted poetry readings by over 800 poets and performers at the Carnegie Lecture Hall, Carnegie Music Hall, Heinz Hall, and other public venues in Pittsburgh. The organization has also presented a series of performances at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Host to nine Nobel Prize laureates, 14 Academy Award winners, 27 U.S. Poet Laureates, and 46 Pulitzer Prize winners, the IPF has received the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal from the Smithsonian for its contributions to the arts.