The Poetry Center, founded in 1954 on the basis of a gift by W. H. Auden and located on the San Francisco State University campus, is one of the most long-lived, prestigious, and nationally renowned literary arts institutions in the United States. For 45 years, since Ruth Witt-Diamant with esteemed poets Robert Duncan and Josephine Miles initiated the Poetry Center's pioneering reading series, the Center has presented readings by poets, novelists, and other writers, in accord with the highest standards of literary excellence. With its companion project, The American Poetry Archives, the Center has collected and compiled thousands of original recordings of poets and writers reading from their works. Their website provides information on poetry resources both in the area and across the country. 

State