River Styx is poetry central in St. Louis

Poet Michael Castro is the founding editor and spiritual father of River Styx.

Since 1974 Karen Duffy has hosted literary readings at her Central West End restaurant, Duff’s.

Says Newman: “Our literary agenda is to promote accessible poetry. In the early ’90s, poetry had been taken over by academics. It was obscure, unmoving poetry, and it was the only kind most people would come across. We want to promote poetry that an intelligent, educated reader would enjoy — not necessarily an MFA or Ph.D. candidate. You don’t have to compromise quality to be accessible.”