13 poets laureate to receive more than $1 million in grants

NEW YORK – Thirteen state and local poets laureate will be receiving grants totalling more than $1 million.

The gifts from the Academy of American Poets, announced Wednesday, are for “recognition” of literary excellence and to support civic programs ranging from podcasts to community-based workshops. The $1,050,000 in funding was made possible by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Among the recipients were Maryland’s poet laureate, Grace Cavalieri; the laureate of Nevada County, California, Molly Fisk; and Fred L. Joiner, poet laureate of Carrboro, North Carolina. Others include Raquel Salas Rivera of Philadelphia; Oklahoma’s state laureate, Jeanetta Calhoun Mish; and Adrian Matejka, Indiana’s laureate.

The poets’ academy is a non-profit founded in 1934.