New York, NY (May 10, 2016)—The Academy of American Poets is pleased to announce that it has received an $85,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), which is celebrating its 50th anniversary year. The NEA is the only funder in the country that supports the arts in all 50 states and five U.S. jurisdictions. It will award $82,357,050 in grants to fund 1,148 projects in 13 artistic disciplines or fields plus arts research, along with partnership agreements to U.S. states, jurisdictions, and regions.
NEA Chairman Jane Chu noted, “The arts are all around us and the NEA helps them thrive.”
The NEA’s grant to the Academy of American Poets will provide essential support to Poets.org, American Poets magazine, National Poetry Month, and the digital Poem-a-Day series. Together, these programs bring poetry to millions of individuals in all 50 states each year.
“The Academy of American Poets has worked with the NEA since it was established in 1966. We’re honored and grateful to have their ongoing support, which enables us to deliver poetry every morning to the hundreds of thousands of poets, readers, and educators who’ve come to rely on the Academy of American Poets resources and programs,” said Jennifer Benka, executive director of the Academy of American Poets.
In addition, this year, the Academy of American Poets has received support from Imagine Your Parks, a grant initiative from the National Endowment for the Arts created in partnership with the National Park Service to support projects that use the arts to engage people with the memorable places and landscapes of the National Park System.
“The ‘Imagine Your Parks’ grants are really helping us celebrate the NPS Centennial and the NEA’s 50th Anniversary with some incredibly diverse and interesting projects that continue to inspire more Americans of all backgrounds to connect with their national parks,” said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis.
The Academy of American Poets, one of only two literary organizations receiving this special support (the other being Poets House), will work with poets to produce poems relating to a national park site in each U.S. state; resulting poems will be featured on Poets.org, as well as in newsletters, social media, and/or in the Poem-a-Day series.
About the Academy of American Poets
The Academy of American Poets is the largest membership-based nonprofit organization fostering an appreciation for contemporary poetry and supporting American poets. The organization produces Poets.org, one of the world’s most popular websites for poets and poetry; National Poetry Month; the popular Poem-a-Day series; American Poets magazine; resources for K-12 educators; an annual series of poetry readings and special events; and awards the American Poets Prizes.
About the National Endowment for the Arts
Established by Congress in 1965, the NEA is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the NEA supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. For more information, visit www.arts.gov.