Literary society in the context of College literary societies

Junimea was a Romanian literary society founded in Iași in 1863, through the initiative of several foreign-educated personalities led by Titu Maiorescu, Petre P. Carp, Vasile Pogor, Theodor Rosetti and Iacob Negruzzi. The foremost personality and mentor of the society was Maiorescu, who, through the means of scientific papers and essays, helped establish the basis of the modern Romanian culture. Junimea was the most influential intellectual and political association from Romania in the 19th century.

A literary circle or coterie, according to The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms, is a "small group of writers (and others) bound together more by friendship and habitual association than by a common literary cause or style that might unite a school or movement. The term often has pejorative connotations of exclusive cliquishness".

A literary circle differs from a writing circle, in that the latter usually includes only writers and the focus is on the process of writing. A literary circle also differs from a literary society, in that the latter need not contain any writers; members of a literary society come together to discuss or celebrate literary works or authors.

The Poetry Foundation is a United States literary society that seeks to promote poetry and lyricism in the wider culture. It was formed from Poetry magazine, which it continues to publish, with a 2003 gift of $200 million from philanthropist Ruth Lilly.

Its mission, which was updated in 2022, is "to amplify poetry and celebrate poets by fostering spaces for all to create, experience, and share poetry." In partial furtherance of this objective, the foundation runs a blog called Harriet. Poets who have blogged at Harriet on behalf of The Poetry Foundation include Christian Bök, Stephanie Burt, Wanda Coleman, Kwame Dawes, Linh Dinh, Camille Dungy, Annie Finch, Forrest Gander, Rigoberto González, Cathy Park Hong, Bhanu Kapil, Ange Mlinko, Eileen Myles, Craig Santos Perez, A. E. Stallings, Edwin Torres, and Patricia Smith. In addition, the foundation provides several awards for poets and poetry. It also hosts free workshops, readings, exhibitions, and is home to a 30,000-volume poetry library.

The Shelley Society was a Victorian literary society founded in London in December 1885 by Frederick James Furnivall to promote the study and appreciation of Percy Bysshe Shelley. Its activities included public lectures, published texts, and sponsored performances, most notably a private staging of The Cenci in 1886. At its height it had around 400 members, among them writers and reformers such as William Michael Rossetti, Henry S. Salt, George Bernard Shaw, and Mathilde Blind, with women contributing actively to its publications and discussions. Provincial and overseas branches were also established, and lectures addressed Shelley's poetry, politics, religion, and ethics, including his advocacy of vegetarianism. The society declined in the 1890s but continued in reduced form into the early 20th century. It has been noted for its role in the late-Victorian "single-author" society movement, for debates over Shelley's radicalism, and for its influence on later reform groups such as the Humanitarian League.