Features

a young woman with glasses reads a book in a cafe

What Are The NEA Big Read Authors Reading?

September 14, 2018
There are a ton of exciting new books coming out all the time (we know because we support many of them through our grants to literary presses and journals!). It sometimes feels overwhelming trying to decide what book to read next, which is why the NEA literature staff loves a good book...
Headshot of a blonde woman

Art Talk with Literature Translation Fellow Jennifer Feeley

September 13, 2018
When Jennifer Feeley was in high school, one of her creative writing teachers encouraged students to read as many books of poetry as possible. It was during forays to the library in search of poetry volumes that Feeley stumbled upon 100 Poems from the Chinese , translated by Kenneth Rexroth. From...
quote by Celeste Ng

#WisdomWednesday with NEA Big Read Author Celeste Ng

September 5, 2018
"I want to be an advocate for empathy... anything that fits in that description is part of my job." -- Celeste Ng at the 2018 National Book Festival Learn more about Celeste Ng and our library of NEA Big Read authors here .
For the love of Reading

For the Love of Reading!

September 4, 2018
We're celebrating heading back to school--and a new season of the NEA Big Read--with a round-up of quotes that celebrate our love of books and of reading. Find out where there's an NEA Big Read taking place near you on arts.gov ! (And it's not too soon to start thinking about applying to host a Big...
Headshots of writers Camille Dungy and Patricia Lockwood

Poets Writing Prose: A Q&A with Camille Dungy and Patricia Lockwood

August 21, 2018
The 36 NEA creative writing fellows who won their awards in 2018 for prose writing include a surprising number of poets, or at least writers who write and publish poetry more often than they write prose. That was interesting to those of us who work in the NEA literature department, and inspired us...
quote by David Shook

WednesdayWisdom: Poet and NEA Translation Fellow David Shook

August 15, 2018
"The arts matter because they teach us how to be more fully human. I think that's incredibly important, especially in today's world as we seek to engage and connect with people who on the surface, superficially, seem unlike us." -- David Shook Read our interview with poet and 2016 NEA Translation...
Rows of yellow glowing glass pumpkins covered with black polka dots

Pairing Museum Exhibitions with Children's Books

August 14, 2018
According to many museum educators, one of the best ways to prepare a child for an art museum is through books. While you can choose to read a book about the general museum experience , you can also hone in on a specific exhibit you plan to see and find books with corresponding themes and subjects...
designed version of Rita Dove quote

Tuesday Thought: Rita Dove

August 7, 2018
"Without imagination we can go nowhere. And imagination is not restricted to the arts. Every scientist I have met who has been a success has had to imagine." -- Rita Dove Did you know that former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove is also a two-time NEA Literature Fellow? Listen to her in conversation...
quote by Emile Zola

#TuesdayMotivation: Émile Zola

July 31, 2018
"If you ask me what I came to do in this world, I, an artist, will answer you: I am here to live out loud." -- Émile Zola
an older woman looking at books in a neighborhood book store

Is It Time for a New Literary Genre?

July 25, 2018
Here’s a question the NEA literature staff has been thinking about lately: what do you call a literary title that infuses text with art and is primarily geared toward grownups? A graphic novel? Picture book? Art book? Illustrated book? Or, as the poet Matthea Harvey suggested to me recently as we...

Pages