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INSTITUTIONS
Institutional forces have profoundly shaped experimental literature, though much experimental literature evinces a standoffish or adversarial attitude toward institutions, viewing institutions—especially large and established ones—as beholden to maintaining the power structure of the status quo. Nonetheless, that characterization ignores the many institutions which have been created by experimentalists as well as ones that foster new, radical work. Institutions, in a broader sense, may also include small community spaces, zine collectives, mail art networks, cafés, and local avant-garde music venues, for example, not just universities, major publishing houses, museums, state-sponsored programs for the arts, and well-endowed non-profits. Avant-garde artistic movements would have hardly been possible unless there were some sites where participants could gather, some organ that helped disseminate their work, and the infrastructure that allowed them to communicate and collaborate.
Today, while distinct artistic movements and collectives might be on the decline, there are a burgeoning number of institutions that promote identities and special interests within literature. While we believe that writers should critically examine the far-reaching influence of larger forces that inconspicuously condition the parameters and possibilities of artmaking, writers also need institutions where they can become involved. Institutions can offer resources, support, connection, programs, workshops, showcases, residencies, performance venues, and other opportunities. This list is just an entry point. Most of the institutions listed below are American and serve a national audience; we encourage you to find local institutions near you: spaces where you can find community and belonging, exchange and share work, or learn and create.
Links
● AWP
● Tin House Writers Summer Workshop
● Northern Arizona Book Festival
● Center for African American Poetry and Poetics
● Just Buffalo Literary Center
● Kundiman
● VIDA: Women in Literary Arts
● Asian American Writers Workshop
● RAWI (Radius of Arab American Writers)
● PLAYA Summer Lake: Center for the Intersection of Art and Science
● National Book Critics Circle
● Lark Play Development Center
● CLMP
