New York, NY (March 13, 2019)— On the occasion of the 85th anniversary of the Academy of American Poets, the organization will present its inaugural Leadership Awards to a publisher, partner, patron, and poet at its annual Poetry & the Creative Mind gala at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall on April 24, 2019, during National Poetry Month.
” ‘In the past five years the readership of poetry has nearly doubled. That dramatic growth is in part due to the success of Andrews McMeel in reaching new readers. We’re pleased to be able to recognize them, along with Civitella, Nicie Panetta, and Sonia Sanchez,’ said Michael Jacobs, Chairman of the Academy of American Poets.
The Civitella Ranieri Foundation, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, provides a residency for the Academy’s Walt Whitman Award-winning poet, an opportunity for the poet to create new work; explore former Academy Chancellor Mark Strand’s library, which was donated to Civitella; and meet gifted artists from multiple disciplines and countries. Civitella is located in a 15th century castle in the Umbrian region of Italy.
The Poetry & the Creative Mind gala event includes a reading of favorite poems by the Emmy Award-winning journalist Ann Curry; musician from the Magnetic Fields Stephin Merritt; James Beard Award-winning chef Daniel Rose; artist Toyin Ojih Odutola; actors Josh Charles and Gretchen Mol; philanthropist David Rockefeller, Jr.; Irish Ambassador Daniel Mulhall; Tony Award-winning dancer Savion Glover; Pulitzer Prize-nominated memoirist, poet, and President of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Elizabeth Alexander; and other special guests.
General admission tickets to the poetry reading-only are available here.
Tickets to the poetry reading and VIP after-party, which will include the awards presentation, are available here.
Funds raised at Poetry & the Creative Mind provide critical support for the Academy of American Poets’ K-12 Education Program, which reaches 100,000 students each year and provides free weekly resources to more that 30,000 educators nationwide.