Over 50 years, Pittsburgh Poetry Exchange went from a small workshop to a support network for local writers

The Pittsburgh Poetry Exchange has become a staple of the local literary scene, touted as the city's oldest continuously running poetry workshop. This status will be codified on Sat., May 18 when Pittsburgh City Council officially declares the date as Pittsburgh Poetry Exchange Day at the workshop’s 50th anniversary celebration at the South Side Presbyterian Church.

Founded in 1974, the Pittsburgh Poetry Exchange started as an offshoot of another workshop, taught by poet Keith Milton at the Community College of Allegheny County. The members loved the environment and didn’t want it to end when the semester was over. They moved to the Northland Public Library and invited other poets, including Michael Wurster, the PPE’s current leader. Differing opinions over the group’s goals led Wurster and four other members — Lloyd Johnson, Vic Coccimiglio, J.W. Jansen, and Dieter Weslowski — to split off, and the Pittsburgh Poetry Exchange was born.

Initially, the PPE met at Wurster’s house but quickly found a new home at the Pennsylvania Repertory Theatre. The group’s mission, as Wurster tells Pittsburgh City Paper, was to “promote poetry and poets, provide workshops and information so people can find out about poetry events, and support all poetry activities in Pittsburgh,” goals that still drive the PPE today.
One early impact of the new workshop was to unify Pittsburgh’s poets. Before the PPE’s founding, Wurster says, “There had always been a gulf between the community and university poets.” He helped to bridge that gap by connecting with established poets like the late Ed Ochester at the University of Pittsburgh Press. This proved mutually beneficial: the community poets bolstered audiences for university-hosted poet readings, while the university poets shared their insights on publishing, something many community poets at the time had limited knowledge about.

In the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, the PPE helped expand this community to include incarcerated poets via the Academy of Prison Arts program. The program brought prominent poets from around the country to put on readings and workshops both at Western Penitentiary and in the community, sharing knowledge and a love of words with poets from all walks of life.

This was an early iteration of a trend that has continued throughout the PPE’s history: seeking out opportunities to bring poetry to the people. In the ‘80s and ‘90s, they ran the annual South Side Poetry Smorgasbord, an expansive event where poets would read at different art galleries, which, at the time, were plentiful along the neighborhood’s main drag. Seating was often limited within the galleries; Wurster has fond memories of watching audience members strolling from one venue to the next with chairs in tow.
As Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods and the PPE’s membership have shifted, so too have the venues they’ve picked for their readings. Currently, they host a quarterly series at Bantha Tea Bar in Garfield (the next one is scheduled for July 20). Poetry Exchange member Joan Bauer has also co-curated the Hemingway’s Summer Poetry Series since the mid-aughts, originally alongside late founder Jimmy Cvetic and today with poet Kristofer Collins, helping the event to outlast its original home at Hemingway’s Café in Oakland.

The Pittsburgh Poetry Exchange has branched out into publishing, too, with both individual members and the group as a collective releasing several books over the years. The 50th anniversary celebration will also serve as the launch for their latest anthology, 50: Pittsburgh Poetry Exchange 1974-2024.

The workshop has always been the heart of the Pittsburgh Poetry Exchange, though, and while it’s moved a few times over the years, its mission hasn’t wavered. They aim to provide feedback, support, and community to poets of all experience levels “whether they just wrote their first poem that morning or already have multiple books,” as Wurster says. The breadth of experience in the group is part of its appeal and a large part of how they’ve sustained for fifty years.
Today, the workshop meets on the first Monday of every month at the Brentwood Public Library and, as always, all are welcome. The 20-plus attendees at their most recent workshop included first-timers as well as members who have been with the group for decades.

The May 18 event highlights the PPE's legacy with readings from both current members and past participants, some of whom have left Pittsburgh and are returning for the reading from as far away as Peru. That past members would travel so far for the anniversary is a testament to the impact PPE has had on the city’s poetry community in its first half-century, while the popularity of their workshop and readings is a positive sign that they’ll continue to be a valuable resource for Pittsburgh’s poets for decades to come.

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Pittsburgh Poetry Exchange 50th Anniversary Celebration. 7-10 p.m. Sat., May 18. South Side Presbyterian Church. 1926 Sarah St,., South Side. $5. littsburgh.com