Foundation
Mission & Value Statement
Born from the idea that across history, the most skilled poets could encapsulate a life-story on the back of a cocktail napkin, bringing creation stories––sparks of brilliance––to life, The Napkin Poetry Review began as an effort to celebrate poets and their ability to translate imaginations into narratives can experience. As we discussed the artists’ works, learning more about poetry’s power and the science behind it, we became inspired to form an initiative to engage global-minded readers and writers, seeking to promote poetry as a tool for mental, physical, and social wellbeing.
Based on scientific and interdisciplinary research, we believe that poetry is an exercise that affects the brain in ways both overlapping and distinct from other linguistic forms. By offering insights on ways to incorporate poetry into our daily lives, we hope to encourage mindfulness and reflection, highlighting poetry’s capacity to build both conceptual thinking tools and empathic understandings that can help connect communities. As a platform, we hope to contribute to mediations of this cultural dialogue as we support and advocate for understandings of the magic, both quantitative and undefinable, behind this art form.
Our review also acknowledges poets as some of our system’s original thinkers. Because of their contributions to human understanding, we want to celebrate our poets, highlighting their work through both profiles and collaborations with photographers. In addition to this celebration, we aim to create opportunities for artists through academic and cultural avenues including workshops, conferences, community engagement, and competitions, always looking to reach diverse audiences.
We are listening for both new and established voices to share, fostering along the way a sense of poetry as an accessible art form. We therefore seek collaborations with researchers, businesses, artists, educational institutions, and other media forms to continue the dialogue between arts and sciences. We believe that this continuum can stimulate creativity within fields from business to fine art, and we uphold poetry as a reflection of the quantitative and personal experiences that define humanity.
Video
Advisory Board
Name
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Name
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Name
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Name
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Name
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Name
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Initiatives/Our Programs?
+ a) The Review
Combining poetry with photography, we are collaborating with art directors and photographers who have worked for renowned magazines such as Vanity Fair, W Magazine, and Vogue among others and exhibit their work in some of the world's leading art institutions globally to explore storytelling and the creative process, translating poems with enigmatic quality and of powerful visual language into photographic art pieces. Alongside poetry, the review includes a behind-the-scenes profile of each poet. Likewise, we seek to demonstrate how poetry fits into our daily lives and will include regular research articles highlighting the physical, social and mental benefits of poetry, inviting professors from various academic fields, such as neuroscience, business and natural sciences to comment.
The Review exists both as an online periodical with an additional bi-annual print collector's edition highlighting all talents & backstories of each publication cycle.
+ b) The Napkin Poetry Review Fellowship*** (This should not appear yet on the website, just flagging that we would want to add a section in the drop-down menu at a later stage for the “Fellowship”
The Napkin Poetry Review not only supports established and upcoming poetic and artistic talent by providing a platform to showcase their work, but is truly invested in the development and growth of international writers: we offer an annual Fellowship for a selected group of writers, providing an intensive on-boarding weekend and writing residency in Europe over the Summer, alongside continued mentorship and support in working towards an initial collection and body of poetic work.
Application details for the 2021 Fellowship, updates on the Summer residency and mentors will be available on our website during the application window in January - March 2021.
+ c) The Napkin Poetry Review – Workshops & Community Meetings
The Napkin Poetry Review offers workshops throughout the year including free online writing seminars, online readings, launch events, and in-person as well as virtual socials where poetic talents and appreciators can come together from around the world.
Likewise, we make a continued effort to support young writers in a wide range of communities, emphasizing the need to bring out new voices. Building on and collaborating with other initiatives, we aim to create opportunities for artists through academic and cultural avenues including workshops, conferences, competitions, and community engagement in schools and like-minded institutions. We want to foster a sense of poetry as an accessible art form that can be part of daily life, highlighting its cognitive, career, and emotional benefits as people read and create.
+ d) Mentorship & Advocacy
Coming soon...
Our Partners
Collaboration & Partnership
The Napkin Poetry Review invites collaborations with other individuals, foundations, businesses, and organizations relating to our mission. We understand that the most powerful impacts are made through joint efforts, therefore we are always exploring new ways to engage with diverse audiences and organize community outreaches. As we work to celebrate poets and share poetry’s benefits through a scientific lens, we aim to involve other artists as well as platforms relating to poetry, mental health and wellbeing, media, education, business, neuroscience, and the social sciences. A global-minded organization, we are excited to work with people from all over the world. If interested in getting involved in any capacity, please reach out to us at napkinpoetryreview@gmail.com.