 He has lectured and given readings widely across America, and also in France, Italy, England, and China.After serving as Assistant Director of the Graduate Writing Program at New York University, Polito became the Director of the Writing Program and Chair of the Humanities Department at the New School in 1992.He founded the Graduate Program in Creative Writing at the New School in 1996, with concentrations in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and writing for children/young adults.