The Loft Literary Center
Encyclopedia
The Loft Literary Center is a nonprofit literary organization located in Minneapolis, Minnesota
. Incorporated in 1975, the Loft's stated mission is "to support the artistic development of writers, to foster a writing community, and to build an audience for literature". The Loft is the "nation’s largest independent literary center" and offers a variety of writing classes, grants, readings, writers' studios and other services to both established and emerging writers.
, Phebe Hanson and Michael Dennis Browne. Later, the Loft joined forces with the Minnesota Center for Book Arts
and the publisher Milkweed Editions
to build the Open Book building, which opened in May 2000 and is the current home of the Loft.
The Loft's current Executive Director is Jocelyn Hale. She replaced former Executive Director Linda Myers, who retired in the fall of 2007.
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. Incorporated in 1975, the Loft's stated mission is "to support the artistic development of writers, to foster a writing community, and to build an audience for literature". The Loft is the "nation’s largest independent literary center" and offers a variety of writing classes, grants, readings, writers' studios and other services to both established and emerging writers.
History
Following a series of successful readings held at Rusoff & Co. Book Dealers in Dinkytown, Minnesota, the Loft was incorporated in 1975 with the support of bookstore owner Marly Rusoff and writers Jim Moore, Patricia HamplPatricia Hampl
Patricia Hampl is an American memoirist, writer, lecturer, and educator. She is a recipient of the prestigious Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, teaches in the MFA program at the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis and is one of the founding members of the Loft Literary Center.-Life:Hampl was...
, Phebe Hanson and Michael Dennis Browne. Later, the Loft joined forces with the Minnesota Center for Book Arts
Minnesota Center for Book Arts
Minnesota Center for Book Arts is the largest and most comprehensive independent non-profit book arts center in the United States. Located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, MCBA is a nationally recognized leader in the celebration and preservation of traditional crafts including hand papermaking,...
and the publisher Milkweed Editions
Milkweed Editions
Milkweed Editions is an independent, non-profit publishing company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Milkweed's goal is to make a positive impact on society through the transformative art of literature. Milkweed is sometimes called the largest independent, non-profit literary publisher in the United...
to build the Open Book building, which opened in May 2000 and is the current home of the Loft.
The Loft's current Executive Director is Jocelyn Hale. She replaced former Executive Director Linda Myers, who retired in the fall of 2007.