The John Tagliabue Poetry Fund

Funding for the John Tagliabue Poetry Fund was initiated by a lead gift of $10,000 from close friends of John and Grace Tagliabue’s.

John Tagliabue taught literature at Bates from 1953 until his retirement in 1989, and was a prolific and imaginative poet.  During his decades on the Bates faculty, he gave readings himself, brought to campus many of the leading poetic voices of the 20th century, and was a friend to poets and creative artists around the world.

When fully funded at $50,000, the John Tagliabue Poetry Fund, a permanent endowment fund, will support poetry at Bates by bringing poets to campus for readings and other creative work, for residencies and teaching by poets and by offering support to students and faculty involved in the composition of poetry. The Tagliabue Fund income may also be used for support of and scholarship with the materials which the Tagliabue family has given or may give to Bates College: unpublished poetry, manuscripts and journals, letters, Grace Tagliabue’s prints of John’s poems, puppets, artwork, collections of books and the like.

The administration of the fund will be under the Dean of Faculty. Faculty, staff and students can apply for support from the fund. If the income from the Fund permits, it could support a learning associate or professorial teaching appointment, with preference for poetry.  The income from the fund may be supplemented on occasion with other funding sources to fulfill the purposes of the John Tagliabue Poetry Fund. If there are no applications in a given year for support from the fund, the interest will accrue to the fund.

The John Tagliabue Poetry Fund is given by family members, friends, former students,and colleagues to honor the service to the Bates community of John and Grace Tagliabue.

Established in 2006.