Creative Writing Program at West Virginia University
Offers undergraduate and graduate level studies in creative writing and sponsors the Sturm Residency program, a visiting writers reading series, the WV Writer's Workshop, a literary magazine (Calliope), and writing contests for students.

Calliope
West Virginia University's literary magazine, has been the recipient of two awards of recognition from the AWP's National Writing Program Director's Contest for Literary Magazines. Calliope is edited, designed, and produced entirely by students in the creative writing program.

Kestrel
Kestrel is published each spring and fall and accepts submissions of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, translations, and artwork. The website offers submission information, past issues, and information about the Kestrel Festival of the Arts.

West Virginia University Press
The primary publishing and distribution agency of scholarly and trade publications for West Virginia University. Vandalia Press is a new imprint of the West Virginia University Press for the publication of works of interest to the general reader, including fiction, poetry, non-fiction and commentary on many subjects with a particular focus on the culture of West Virginia and Appalachia.

From Songs of the Hills: Poetry in West Virginia
by Michael J. Pauley
Poetry has always been an important aspect of literary life in the mountains and valleys of West Virginia. Just as the Indians have left us manifestations of their art and magical beliefs in the form of petroglyphs, so one can easily imagine them sitting about an evening camp fire composing poems to the mountain spirits or singing of moonrise over the Kanawha. Indeed, one of the most famous poetical statements ever made by an American Indian was the speech of Chief Logan in 1774, which was once memorized by every West Virginia student. Read more >

1. The Negro Speaks of Rivers
by Langston Hughes
I've known rivers...

2. What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why (Sonnet XLIII)
by Edna St. Vincent Millay
What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why...

3. One Art
by Elizabeth Bishop
The art of losing isn't hard to master...

4. September 1, 1939
by W. H. Auden
I sit in one of the dives...

5. Sick
by Shel Silverstein
"I cannot go to school today"...

6. Do not go gentle into that good night
by Dylan Thomas
Do not go gentle into that good night...

7. The Red Wheelbarrow
by William Carlos Williams
so much depends...

8. The Unknown Citizen
by W. H. Auden
He was found by the Bureau of Statistics to be...

9. The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood...

10. The Moose
by Elizabeth Bishop
From narrow provinces...

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West Virginia Commission on the Arts
Offers information and programs on artworks, art in education, accessibility to the arts, opportunities for artists, grants and fellowships for artists, and other support for performing, literary, and visual artists.

West Virginia Humanities Council
A private, non-profit organization and the state's affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The West Virginia Humanities Council offers a Speaker's Bureau of West Virginia authorities on a range of topics, a History Alive program, and The Little Lecture Series, which presents readings and lectures on topics across the humanities.

West Virginia Poetry Society
Offers an annual convention, poetry contests, society membership, newsletters, chapters in different parts of the state, and a poetry journal, Laurels, which publishes the work of members.

West Virginia Writers, Inc.
Supports writers and poets in the state and beyond with an annual conference, regional workshops, writing competitions, an online writers' roundtable, event and opportunity listings, and other resources. WVW has 305 members and was established in 1977.

Kestrel Festival of the Arts
Each spring, the Kestrel Festival of the Arts features public readings by artists and writers and writing workshops conducted by visiting lecturers. Each workshop has hands-on activities for novice and master writers and artists.

West Virginia Writers, Inc.
Sponsors an annual three-day conference which offers readings, lectures, and workshops in poetry and other genres.

West Virginia Writers' Workshop
Hosts nationally respected authors alongside many of the region's best-known writers in annual workshop held on the WVU campus.