Features

three young woman seated holding open copies of Don't Call Us Dead by Danez Smith
2019

Grant Spotlight on the Care Center

According to Anne Teschner, executive director of the Community Adolescent Resources and Education Center (The Care Center) , the young women enrolled at the Care Center in Holyoke, Massachusetts, gain confidence in themselves through the Paper City Poetry Project's Readers and Writers Series—a...
collage of three photos of Nicholas Amador from 2016, 2017, 2018
2019

#ThrowbackThursday: What's It Like to Be a Student Competing in Poetry Out Loud?

Not only was Nicholas Amador—now a sophomore studying astrophysics at Harvard University—Hawaii's Poetry Out Loud champion for three straight years, but he also placed in the top three at the National Finals each of those years. Having declared poetry persona non grata in fifth grade—thanks to a...
a man in Western wear holds the reins of a horse while a young girl pats the side of the horse
2019

Grant Spotlight on the Cowboy Poetry Education Program at the Desert Caballeros Western Museum

It’s no secret that the U.S. has a rich history and culture of cowboys and ranchers. But while we may be familiar with the image of the cowboy from country songs and movie westerns, there is also a strong tradition of capturing ranching life in literature, particularly the genre of poetry known as...
quote by Jan Seale
2019

Notable Quotable: Jan Seale on Why Learning Poems By Heart Matters

"Learning a poem by heart makes us participants in a uniquely human experience with pre-history origins. A poem learned by heart can circumvent the head, comfort the soul, distract demons, and provide entertainment for the restless." — Jan Seale, 1982 National Endowment for the Arts Creative...
woman standing watching red LED light musical instruments
2019

All That Jazz... and Poetry!

Are you short on time but want to celebrate both Jazz Appreciation Month AND National Poetry Month? We can help with that! Click on the name of the poem to read the enire text. And don't forget to let us know what's your favorite jazz poem on the National Endowment for the Arts Facebook page ! "…...
Life According to Lucille Clifton
2019

Life According to Lucille Clifton

Lucille Clifton (1926-2010) was a prolific poet, author of children’s literature, and educator. Born in Depew, New York, on June 27, 1936, Clifton was raised with a deep appreciation for the African and African-American arts. She published her first volume of poems, Good Times, in 1969 to critical...
black and white photo of Angela Flournoy
2019

It's All About the Books with NEA Creative Writing Fellow Angela Flournoy

It is a truth universally acknowledged that in the heart of every devoted writer lurks a devoted reader. And 2018 National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellow Angela Flournoy —who garnered an avalanche of praise for her debut novel, The Turner House —is no exception. Flournoy very kindly...
diptych of Jeff VanderMeer author photo and cover of his novel Borne
2019

NEA Big Read Author Jeff VanderMeer on Gardening, Fan Art, and Creative Collaborations

NEA Big Read author Jeff VanderMeer spent his early years in the Fiji Islands where his father, an entomologist and research chemist, went to study rhinoceros beetles until he turned his attention to fire ants and moved the family to Gainesville, Florida. A lifelong birdwatcher, VanderMeer has...
Collage of Goldie Goldbloom's author photo with bookcover of The Paperbark Show
2019

#ThrowbackThursday: Meet NEA Big Read Author Goldie Goldbloom

Goldie Goldbloom—NEA Creative Writing Fellow and new NEA Big Read author—grew up in Western Australia. On her family farm in the country’s rural outback, her grandparents hosted Italian prisoners of war during World War II, which inspired Goldbloom to write her award-winning novel, The Paperbark...
Maya Angelou quote
2019

#WisdomWednesday: Maya Angelou

"Just like moons and like suns, /With the certainty of tides,/ Just like hopes springing high,/ Still I’ll rise.” — Maya Angelou (from "Still I Rise" ) For Black History Month, revisit our interview with the filmmakers behind the Maya Angelou documentary , which takes its name from her poem, a...

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