Housing the world’s largest public collection of modern poetry, we are the National Poetry Library; free to join across the UK, and London’s only space dedicated to poetry study.
Founded by the Arts Council in 1953 and opened by poets TS Eliot and Herbert Read, we’ve been at the heart of the nation’s poetry community ever since, nurturing generations of talented and much-loved poets.
Since 1988, and a relocation ceremony led by Seamus Heaney, the National Poetry Library has lived here at the Southbank Centre on Level 5 of the Royal Festival Hall.
We believe poetry is for everyone to enjoy and is a great way to understand the world around us.