Founded in 2008, THE UNIVERSITY OF WYNWOOD is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit corporation in the state of Florida. We are not a real university, though we believe in, support, and contribute to the spirit of civic education through our commitment to the practice of contemporary poetry. Our mission is to continually re-imagine our home, Miami-Dade County, through the lens of poetry. (By "poetry," we mean not only the art form, but also its histories, methodologies, practitioners, definitions, etc.) University of Wynwood seeks to improve Miami-Dade County by enacting events and projects that interrogate its own existence. Miami itself is a poem that we re-read, over and over through our activities, in an effort to re-store a natural ignorance of the place we live. By this practice, we hope to be a model for other small organizations and think-tanks around the world who struggle with the idea of a culturally-engaged civic space.
Our principal projects are O, Miami, Jai-Alai Magazine, and the UWyn Visiting Poet Series.
The Founder and Director of the University of Wynwood is P. Scott Cunningham. The current intern is Mandy Kuhn. The translation editor is José A. Villar-Portela. You can reach us at . If you'd like to receive invitations to private events and be kept up-to-date on UW happenings via our mailing list, please join the Lady Python Nation. You can find us on Twitter at @ladypythons and on Facebook.
Our offices are located inside of the Florida Precision Instrument Building. Visits are by appointment only, unless otherwise stated on our events page.
As part of our commitment to Miami-Dade County, we collaborate widely with other local organizations, as well as with national organizations who share our commitment to contemporary literature. Previous and current collaborators include: Poetry Society of America, Pen Center USA, The Miami Herald, Miami Art Museum, New World Center and the New World Symphony, Miami-Dade Public Libraries, Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Miami's Design District, The Wolfsonian-FIU, The Betsy-South Beach, Lotus House, Locust Projects, Sweat Records, Lester's Bar, Miami New Times, Florida Center for the Literary Arts, Gallery Diet, Design Miami, Books and Books, Miami Poetry Collective, Fountainhead Residency, Bas Fisher Invitational, and Borscht Film Festival, among others.
Our website was designed by Christopher Louvet, a poet and web designer based in Miami, and our seal was designed by Isaac Littlejohn Eddy, a cast member of the Blue Man Group in New York City and a cartoonist for the New York Times Neighborhood blog
University of Wynwood t-shirts are available for purchase at Zazzle.com. All proceeds go to making more poetry happen in Miami-Dade County.
The University of Wynwood is made possible by the John and James L. Knight Foundation, Miami-Dade County, and the City of Miami Beach. Please support the arts in Miami.