Congratulations to the newly appointed 2016 Ruth Lily and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellows, and congratulations to the 2016-2017 class of National Student Poets!
We’re thrilled to share that Adroit contributors Kaveh Akbar (whose poem “Calling a Wolf a Wolf (Inpatient)” appears in our seventeenth issue) and Javier Zamora (whose poem “There’s So Much Room Underneath an Upturned Boat” appears in our fourteenth issue) are among the five poets selected to receive 2016 Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Fellowships from the Poetry Foundation. They are joined by poets Jos Charles, Angel Nafis, and Alison C. Rollins.
Established in 1989 by Ruth Lilly to encourage the further writing and study of poetry, the prestigious fellowship program is open to all U.S. poets between 21 and 31 years of age. Each selected poet receives a fellowship of $25,800 to “to encourage the further study and writing of poetry.”
Click here for more information on the fellowship and this year’s awardees.
Each year, The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers select five poets—one from each geographic region of the United States—to serve as literary ambassadors to broaden the role poetry and literature play in local and national communities. According to the National Student Poets Program website, “by elevating and showcasing their work for a national audience, the program strives to inspire other young people to achieve excellence in their own creative endeavors and promote the essential role of writing and the arts in academic and personal success.”
This year, we’re thrilled to report that Joey Reisberg (Northeast), a junior at the Carver Center for Arts & Technology in Towson, Maryland, and Maya Eashwaran (Southeast), a senior at Milton HIgh School in Milton, Georgia, have been selected as two of the five National Student Poets. Joey and Maya participated in the Adroit Journal Summer Mentorship Program, an entirely free & online program that pairs students in high school with established writing mentors, to study poetry with Cody Ernst and Michelle Donahue respectively. They join previous Adroit-affiliated student poets Eileen Huang (2015), Julia Falkner (2014), Ashley Gong (2014), Michaela Coplen (2013), Nathan Cummings (2013), Aline Dolinh (2013), Luisa Banchoff (2012), Miles Hewitt (2012), and Claire Lee (2012).
A ceremony welcoming Joey and Maya hosted by First Lady Michelle Obama was held today at the White House, They join fellow appointed poets Stella Binion (Midwest), Gopal Raman (Southwest), and Maya Salameh (West). To learn more about the program, check out the video below.
