Current:Home > reviewsAcademy of American Poets receives its largest ever donation -Wealth Impact Academy
Academy of American Poets receives its largest ever donation
View
Date:2025-04-19 03:06:17
Writers all over the United States get support from The Academy of American Poets. Its programming, which includes classroom materials and public readings, reaches millions of Americans.
Last year, the organization gave out 22 Poet Laureate fellowships of $50,000 each. Recipients ranged from Hawaii's Brandy Nālani McDougall to South Carolina's Glenis Redmond to New Hampshire's Diannely Antigua. There are other ways to become a poet laureate — for example, a governor or mayor can name a poet to the position in their city or state — but these fellowships are intended to help poets connect with their communities, with an emphasis on young people, and to create new work.
In 2020, the Poet Laureate program received a $4.5 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, enough to support it for the next three years. On Wednesday, the Mellon Foundation announced it would top that grant with an additional $5.7 million to support both the Poet Laureates and the Poetry Coalition, a national alliance of more than 30 organizations working together to promote poetry.
The gift is the largest philanthropic donation in the organization's history. The Academy of American Poets dates back to 1934. It was founded by a 23-year-old poet and astronomer, Marie Bullock, an American educated in Paris who came back to New York and married a Wall Street titan.
"We are so pleased to continue supporting the Academy as it furthers its vital mission through the Poet Laureate Fellowships and the Poetry Coalition," said Mellon Foundation president Elizabeth Alexander in a statement. "These are programs that uplift poets and their work across the United States, creating opportunities for learning and community among readers of multiple generations and cultures. This renewed funding will help to ensure that all of us can access the beauty and wisdom found within the rich and enduring practice of poetry."
"Throughout history, poets have helped us examine ourselves and our responsibilities to each other," said Ricardo Alberto Maldonado, President and Executive Director of the Academy of American Poets. "The Academy believes that poetry is best served by a wide range of national and regional actions, and includes a spectrum of voices that speak directly to the communities of which we are a part."
Programs backed by the Poetry Coalition reach more than 30 million individuals annually, according to the organization. In 2023, it hosted a series focusing on themes of grief. It included readings, workshops and various publications and was called "and so much lost you'd think / beauty had left a lesson: Poetry & Grief."
The title was taken from a poem by Ed Roberson, a Chicago-based writer who teaches at Northwestern University and is a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets.
veryGood! (8546)
Related
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- Paralympic Games opening ceremony starts the final chapter on a long summer of sport in Paris
- Jury returns to deliberations in trial of former politician accused of killing Las Vegas reporter
- Memphis, Tennessee murder suspect crashes through ceiling as US Marshals search for him
- Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
- Health insurance providers to fund street doctors and clinics to serve LA’s homeless population
- New Jersey man drowns while rescuing 2 of his children in Delaware River
- Stefanos Tsitsipas exits US Open: 'I'm nothing compared to the player I was before'
- Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie return for an 'Encore,' reminisce about 'The Simple Life'
- Breaks in main water pipeline for Grand Canyon prompt shutdown of overnight hotel stays
Ranking
- FACT FOCUS: Inspector general’s Jan. 6 report misrepresented as proof of FBI setup
- Following protests, DeSantis says plan to develop state parks is ‘going back to the drawing board’
- Michigan power outages widespread after potent storms lash the state
- Kamala Harris’ election would defy history. Just 1 sitting VP has been elected president since 1836
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- Officials thought this bald eagle was injured. It was actually just 'too fat to fly'.
- Woman shot at White Sox game sues team and stadium authority
- SpaceX delays Polaris Dawn again, this time for 'unfavorable weather' for splashdown
Recommendation
DeepSeek: Did a little known Chinese startup cause a 'Sputnik moment' for AI?
'Robin Hood in reverse': Former 'Real Housewives' star convicted of embezzling $15 million
The Daily Money: Pricing the American Dream
'Yellowstone' First Look Week: Jamie Dutton doubles down on family duplicity (photos)
Bodycam footage shows high
Lil Rod breaks silence on lawsuit against Sean 'Diddy' Combs: 'I'm being punished'
Owners of Pulse nightclub, where 49 died in mass shooting, won’t be charged
Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova knocked out in the second round of the US Open