About the Society
The Dante Society of America was founded in 1881 through the leadership of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, James Russell Lowell, and Charles Eliot Norton, who in turn served as its first three presidents. Our renewed and reinvigorated mission is to encourage the study and appreciation of the time, life, works, and cultural legacy of Dante Alighieri.
Currently under the leadership of its nineteenth president, Alison Cornish (New York University), the Society publishes the annual journal Dante Studies, sent gratis to all members, and an electronic journal of critical notes (Dante Notes). It also produces an annual American Dante Bibliography, now in collaboration with the Società Dantesca Italiana, and organizes sessions on Dante at various scholarly meetings during the academic year. Since 2014, the Society has also organized annual symposium in conjunction with its annual meeting.
For more information on the history of the Dante Society, you may refer to Wikipedia. A listing of the Society’s presidents is available here.
Interested in becoming a member? Please visit our Membership page for more information.
The Society also sponsors two annual essay contests. One is open to undergraduate students, the other to graduates, who are enrolled in North American colleges and universities. Please see the Prizes webpage for submission guidelines.