HARRISONBURG, Va. (ROCKTOWN NOW) – The Furious Flower Poetry Center at James Madison University recently received a $40,0000 grant from the Poetry Foundation.

The Poetry Foundation, established in 2003 to expand the presence of poetry in the U.S., noted JMU as one of 54 nonprofit organizations committed to increasing access to poetry and supporting poets.

Furious Flower Poetry Center Executive Director Lauren K. Alleyne said the grant will be used to support poetry programs such as seminars, reading theories and poetry prizes for emerging writers.

Most of the funds will be allocated towards the centennial Furious Flower conference scheduled for September. The conference, which is held every 10 years, started in 1994.

In an interview with Rocktown Now, Alleyne described the event as a flagship conference that launched Furious Flower.

“It’s sort of the Black poetry state of the union, where we bring all the Black poets and scholars of Black poetry, and admirers of poetry,” Alleyne said.

Alleyne added that Furious Flower currently has an exhibit of Afro-Latinx poets at their Broadside Gallery.

For more information about the Furious Flowers Poets Center visit their website.