February 3, 2004
Media Contact: Anne Halsey (312) 799.8016; ahalsey@poetryfoundation.org

John Barr Named President of The Poetry Foundation

Investment Banker/Poet to Help Foundation
Expand Reach and Develop New Programs

Media Note: Barr available for interview; photos, poems available-call contact.

CHICAGO—John Barr, an investment banker, college professor and published poet, has been named president of The Poetry Foundation. Formerly the Modern Poetry Association, the Foundation was renamed in 2003 after receiving a generous financial gift from philanthropist Ms. Ruth Lilly.

A high-visibility business leader on Wall Street, Barr has spent more than 30 years as an entrepreneur, investment banker, and advisor to Fortune 500 corporations. Barr was founder and chairman of Barr Devlin Associates, an investment-banking boutique. He is currently managing director and chairman of SG Barr Devlin (SGBD), a unit of Société Générale (SG) that provides strategic and financial advice to clients in the electric and gas industries. Previously, he was a managing director at Morgan Stanley, where he worked for 18 years. Barr was also a founder of the Natural Gas Clearinghouse (now Dynegy Corporation).

"John's vast experience and understanding of the business world, combined with his serious and life-long dedication to poetry, provide the Foundation with a seasoned leader who will help us create new ways to share the joys of poetry with larger audiences around the world," said Deborah Cummins, Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Poetry Foundation, which is based in Chicago and publishes Poetry magazine.

"The Poetry Foundation is currently known for two things," said Barr. "Poetry magazine and the Lilly bequest. That combination of literary distinction and financial capability has not occurred before in the history of American poetry. The Foundation has the opportunity—and the challenge—to serve the arts by finding the best poetry and placing it before the largest possible audience. My dream is to see the Foundation built and operated like a well-run company; a company whose business purpose is to provide an important home for American poetry."

Barr graduated from Harvard College with honors in English Literature. He served on Navy destroyers for the next five years and made three cruises to Vietnam. He returned to Harvard Business School where he graduated from the MBA program as a Baker Scholar. Barr serves or has served on the boards of Yaddo, The Poetry Society of America, and Bennington College. For the latter two he served, respectively, as President for five years and chairman for 12 years. Barr currently teaches poetry in the graduate writing program at Sarah Lawrence College.

The poems of John Barr have been published in six collections: The War Zone (1989), Natural Wonders (1991), The Dial Painters (1994), The Hundred Fathom Curve (1997), Centennial Suite (1998), and Grace (1999).

To schedule an interview with John Barr or to receive digital photos, please call Anne Halsey at 312.799.8016.

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