About
Aspen Words, the nonprofit literary organization known for decades as the Aspen Writers’ Foundation, was founded in Aspen in 1976 as a cutting edge poetry conference and literary magazine. Today Aspen Words (AW) is one of the nation’s leading literary centers and a stage for the world’s most prominent contemporary writers. AW programs employ literature as a tool for provoking thought, broadening perspectives, fostering connections, inspiring creativity, and giving voice. Since 2009, we have partnered with the Aspen Institute, underscoring the highest humanistic ideals of Institute founder Walter Paepcke: to better understand human challenges by cultivating one’s inner life through the exchange of words, stories, and ideas.