Elizabeth Alexander News

Martin Farawell, Director of the Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival, has announced highlights of the upcoming 17th biennial four-day event, October 18-21, featuring bestselling authors, literary legends, Pulitzer Prize winners, slam champions, and Academy of American Poets Chancellors. Former U.S. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera, Pulitzer Prize-winners Sharon Olds and Gregory Pardlo, as well as much-published and award-winning poets Sandra Cisneros, Sapphire, Eileen Myles, Ntozake Shange, Kwame Dawes, Alberto Rios, David St. John, Henri Cole, Gregory Orr, Mary Ruefle and David Young will be giving Featured Readings during the Festival and are among the dozens of acclaimed poets who will participate in the four-day event, which takes place at the

Juilliard President Damian Woetzel announced several key initiatives and new projects aimed to advance Juilliard's excellence and impact in his first address to the Juilliard community, on September 4. During the convocation ceremony, which also featured performances by Juilliard students, faculty, alumni, and some of the newly announced Creative Associates, Woetzel outlined his plans to build on Juilliard's tradition of excellence while also focusing on creative enterprise and inclusivity in the arts.

New Jersey Performing Arts Center, the country's most diverse arts presenter, announced a sensational opening lineup for the 2018-2019 season, an adventurous range of more than 150 attractions - Bollywood to ballet, hip-hop to K-pop - for every kind of audience.

New episodes of Poetry in America will be on public television stations nationwide starting the first week of April and running throughout the Spring.(Check local listings as some stations will debut the series at other times during the spring.)

The cast has come up with a hashtag #DivasWhoBelieva, and the divine divas of SCERA's "Sister Act: The Musical" are prepared to dazzle. The premise: It's the 1970s and exuberant disco diva Deloris Van Cartier wants a recording contract. Little does she know that soon she will be singing praises to heaven instead as she hides in a convent while eluding a gangster boyfriend.

When the Academy of American Poets created and launched National Poetry Month in April 1996, it couldn't have predicted that its signature program would inspire events in all fifty states, becoming the nation's largest literary celebration. The annual initiative both introduces young readers to poetry and creates an opportunity for teachers, librarians, booksellers, poetry organizations, and poets themselves to showcase the importance of reading and supporting poetry year-round. Today, National Poetry Month remains the Academy of American Poets' special contribution to the art of poetry in the United States, and it is pleased to announce the following activities, initiatives, and resources for this year's celebration.

NBA Hall of Fame basketball star and platinum hip-hop artist Shaquille O'Neal reads the immersive Edward Hirsch poem “Fast Break” about the universal experience of playing basketball in a remarkable new 12-part television series Poetry in America that aims to bring poetry to millions of viewers. Watch the trailer here!

NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ The Trustees of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation have elected Elizabeth Alexander to be the Foundation's next President, effective March 2018. Alexander will succeed Earl Lewis, who has served as President since 2013.

The Halalisa Singers presents Draw the Circle Wide: Songs of Justice and Inclusion today, January 20, 8 pm at Follen Community Church, 755 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, and on Sunday, January 21, 3 pm, United Universalist Church of Reading, 239 Woburn Street, Reading.

The Halalisa Singers presents Draw the Circle Wide: Songs of Justice and Inclusion on Saturday, January 20, 8 pm at Follen Community Church, 755 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, and on Sunday, January 21, 3 pm, United Universalist Church of Reading, 239 Woburn Street, Reading. The world music choral ensemble is led by Artistic Director Mary Cunningham, accompanied by Trevor Berens, piano and Bertram Lehmann, percussion.

The Halalisa Singers presents Draw the Circle Wide: Songs of Justice and Inclusion on Saturday, January 20, 8 pm at Follen Community Church, 755 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, and on Sunday, January 21, 3 pm, United Universalist Church of Reading, 239 Woburn Street, Reading.

American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) and Harvard Art Museums have partnered in conjunction with the A.R.T.'s production of WARHOLCAPOTE to present a series of events highlighting the contemporary legacies of Andy Warhol and Truman Capote, including a unique encounter with Warhol screen-prints and a speaker series featuring journalists, multimedia artists, curators, and collectors.

American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) and Harvard Art Museums have partnered in conjunction with the A.R.T.'s production of WARHOLCAPOTE to present a series of events highlighting the contemporary legacies of Andy Warhol and Truman Capote, including a unique encounter with Warhol screen-prints and a speaker series featuring journalists, multimedia artists, curators, and collectors.

Actresses Meryl Streep, Meg Ryan, and Uzo Aduba; Grammy-winning jazz singer Cecile McLorin Salvant; best-selling author Sebastian Junger; food and travel writer Madhur Jaffrey; singer-songwriter Amanda Palmer; National Student Poet Joey Reisberg; and acclaimed poet/memoirist Elizabeth Alexander, among others, will read their favorite poems in celebration of National Poetry Month on April 19, 2017, at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall.

Last night, February 16, 2017, at a special preview event for the new documentary 'American Masters -- Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise' at The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (New York, NY), Dr. Maya Angelou's grandson Colin Johnson, Co-Founder and Principal of Caged Bird Legacy, LLC, presented Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton and President Bill Clinton with a plaque of Dr. Maya Angelou's inauguration poem, 'On The Pulse of Morning,' that flew on the Orion Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) December 5, 2014. Scroll down for photos!

On the eve of the presidential inauguration, join Madonna and Marilyn Minter--- two fearless feminist provocateurs--- as they talk art, culture, feminism, and the current state of affairs. Connecting Madonna, an artist, activist, and philanthropist, with Minter, whose work explores cultural perceptions of women, this unprecedented conversation will highlight the impact of female artists within broader culture and social change.

Joe's Pub at The Public has announced its nightly performances for October 26 - November 6, 2016. Scroll down and visit www.joespub.com for a complete list of shows!

The fifth annual class of the National Student Poets Program (NSPP) the nation's highest honor for youth poets has been announced by the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the nonprofit Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. The students were appointed by First Lady Michelle Obama at a ceremony earlier today in the State Dining Room at the White House. As part of an appointment ceremony, each of the students did a reading of an original poem.

This fall, The New York Public Library and the Academy of American Poets present a free series of four conversations exploring how different art forms engage with poetry. These conversations will pair some of today's most intriguing poets with accomplished artists, dancers, chefs, and actors.