Latest news with #PoetLaureate
Politico
3 days ago
- Politics
- Politico
Meet Markey's primary challenger
MARKEY CHALLENGER ENTERS THE CHAT — Alex Rikleen — a father, former teacher and fantasy sports writer — is running for the U.S. Senate 'because Democrats have shown us that they're not going to change on their own.' Rikleen, a first-time candidate, launched his primary campaign against Sen. Ed Markey earlier this week with a call for Democrats to do more to fight the 'existential threat' they warned of from a second Trump term. 'Democrats the whole last campaign, the overwhelming message was 'existential threat, existential threat,'' Rikleen told Playbook. 'And Ed Markey has been around for — this is his seventh new Republican administration — and I don't see any difference in how he is responding to this new Republican administration versus any of the previous six.' Out of power in D.C., Democrats have unleashed a steady drumbeat of criticism against Republicans. Markey has crossed the state to attend protests and rallies, and he t raveled to Louisiana in April to urge the White House to release Tufts student Rumeysa Öztürk who was detained there. But beyond messaging, there's little Democrats can do to block President Donald Trump's agenda without control of either the House or the Senate. Republicans will likely be able to push their policy agenda through Washington, Rikleen acknowledged. 'A unified Republican majority can overcome people who are objecting to unanimous consent, and they can overcome quorum calls, but it slows them down,' he said. Rikleen isn't alone in launching a frustration-fueled primary challenge against a longtime Democratic member of Congress. Candidates are running similar campaigns in California, Illinois and Virginia. But Rikleen, a millennial, didn't specifically mention Markey's age (he'll be 80 when he's on the ballot next year). Taking on Markey will likely be an uphill battle for a political newcomer like Rikleen — especially considering he notched a decisive victory last cycle over high-profile congressman from one of the country's most storied political families. GOOD FRIDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Happy Friday! TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll announce the state's new Poet Laureate at 12:45 p.m. in Salem. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu hosts a Chinatown and Bay Village coffee hour at 10 a.m. in Chinatown, speaks at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Flour Bakery location in Boston Common at noon and talks about 'governing in the age of Trump' at the WBUR Festival at 2 p.m. THIS WEEKEND — Auditor Diana DiZoglio is on WCVB's 'On the Record' at 11 a.m. Sunday. Rep. Jake Auchincloss is on NBC10 Boston Weekend Today at 9:30 a.m. Sunday. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Drop me a line: kgarrity@ DATELINE BEACON HILL EYEBROW RAISER — Massachusetts' Healey seeks meeting with Trump border czar Homan by Barry Richard, 1420 WBSM: 'Days after Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey praised 'some' of President Donald Trump's border policies, Healey is now looking to score a meeting with Trump border czar Tom Homan. … [F]ormer Bristol County Sheriff Tom Hodgson, the Massachusetts chairman of the 2024 Trump campaign, told WBSM's Chris McCarthy he was approached by a Healey contact who asked if he might mention Hodgson to Healey as someone who might be able to put her in touch with Homan. Hodgson agreed. 'I will wait for his response,' Hodgson said. 'He (the contact) did not say she asked him to reach out to me, but he prefaced his conversation by saying he was 'having dinner with Maura Healey.''' Healey has previously said she would be willing to meet with Homan, but an aide didn't clarify Thursday night whether she was actively seeking a meeting with Trump's border czar. — Lawmakers urged to block library book bans by Christian M. Wade, The Eagle-Tribune: 'Lawmakers are being urged to restrict efforts to ban books from public libraries and schools in response to a rise in challenges from parents and conservative groups. The bipartisan proposal, which is being considered by the Legislature's Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development, would, if approved, make Massachusetts one of only two states to effectively outlaw book bans because of 'partisan or doctrinal' reasons by setting new restrictions on receiving state funding.' WHAT'S ON CAMPBELL'S DOCKET — AG Campbell releases 'Know Your Rights' guide as ICE arrests surge by Vivian La, WBUR: 'In response to an increase in immigration arrests, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell issued a guide that outlines what immigrants, families and communities should know about their rights if they are approached by ICE or witness detentions in their neighborhoods. Over the last few months, some arrests have shocked communities. Five federal agents tackled a man in Watertown; a chaotic arrest in Worcester led to an hours-long standoff between bystanders, local police and federal agents; agents smashed a car window to access a man in New Bedford; and a Tufts student who didn't know her visa was revoked was arrested by plainclothes agents.' FROM THE HUB — Opioid-related deaths decline in Boston in 2024 by Craig LeMoult, GBH News: 'Opioid-related deaths dropped sharply in Boston last year, hitting a nine-year low, according to a new analysis by the Boston Public Health Commission. Public health leaders believe some interventions, like distribution of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone, are helping — but they say the biggest contributing factor may be what's in the illicit drugs themselves.' THE RACE FOR CITY HALL — District 7 candidates debate land use, White Stadium at Boston forum by Tréa Lavery, MassLive: 'Nine candidates seeking to replace Boston District 7 City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson discussed a number of community issues during a virtual forum Thursday night. But the one issue that remained unsaid during the nearly three-hour forum was the reason Fernandes Anderson's seat is open — her conviction on federal corruption charges.' PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES — MBTA employees busted for allegedly falsifying Red Line track inspection reports in Boston by Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald: 'Four former MBTA employees who clocked in overtime well north of $50,000 last year and a current staffer could face up to 20 years in prison for allegedly falsifying Red Line track inspection reports. The four former employees are accused in federal court of working on private vehicles, playing on their phones, and chatting with other employees instead of performing track inspections, which they stated they completed.' DAY IN COURT — Grand jury investigating State Police recruit death by Sean Cotter, The Boston Globe: 'A state Superior Court grand jury has been hearing sworn testimony over at least several weeks from State Police troopers and others close to the investigation of a police recruit's death during a training exercise in September, according to three people with direct knowledge of the secret court proceedings. The grand jury appears to be an escalation in the months-long investigation by special prosecutor David Meier. The veteran defense attorney and former prosecutor was tapped by state officials to lead an independent probe into the death of 25-year-old Enrique Delgado-Garcia, who suffered serious injuries in a boxing ring during an academy training exercise in New Braintree. He died a day later.' WARREN REPORT — Savannah Chrisley clashes with Elizabeth Warren over Trump's pardon of her parents' fraud convictions by Tal Kopan, The Boston Globe: 'Senator Elizabeth Warren drew the ire of a conservative reality television star Thursday morning over a pardon from President Trump that wiped away her parents' fraud convictions. Savannah Chrisley, daughter of 'Chrisley Knows Best' TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, took issue with a Warren post on the social media platform X that called Trump's pardon of her parents 'a get-out-of-jail-free card for the rich & famous who cozy up to Trump.' The younger Chrisley campaigned for Trump last year.' — Led by Senator Warren, Mass. lawmakers demand answers about Trump's ongoing attack on international students by Tonya Alanez, The Boston Globe: 'Senator Elizabeth Warren led a delegation of Massachusetts lawmakers in demanding answers from the Trump administration about its revocation of international students' visas, what they called the latest in a string of hostile actions aimed at students from abroad, according to a copy of a letter sent Wednesday.' FROM THE DELEGATION OVERSIGHT OFFICIAL — Rep. Stephen Lynch made his bid for the for the top Democratic spot on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee official Thursday, touting his decades of experience on the committee, and the support of the late Rep. Gerry Connolly, who previously held the post. 'As we all know, Gerry Connolly was all about the work, and I am honored to have earned his trust and endorsement to continue this important work and lead Oversight Democrats at a moment when our decisions and our actions over the coming months may determine the course of our American experiment,' Lynch, who has been serving as the party's temporary head of the panel, wrote in a letter to Democratic colleagues. 'I am well-prepared to manage an extremely talented group of Oversight Democrats as we fight like hell against every action taken by the Trump Administration to curtail individual rights, dismantle our democratic institutions and unload the costs of reckless economic plans onto the backs of America's workers and vulnerable communities,' Lynch added. So far, Lynch is up against Rep. Robert Garcia of California and Rep. Kweisi Mfume of Maryland. Others, like Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, have also expressed interest in running. MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS — Small marijuana businesses call reform bill a 'Trojan horse' for big companies by Walter Wuthmann, WBUR: 'Massachusetts House lawmakers this week released their long-awaited plan to restructure the state's embattled Cannabis Control Commission, but some marijuana retailers say it contains provisions that would be a 'death blow' to the industry. The agency tasked with regulating the state's $8 billion marijuana industry has faced calls for reform following allegations of workplace toxicity, infighting and perceived regulatory delays. The House proposal would reduce the five-member commission to three, and give more governing power to its chair.' — With cannabis industry struggling, Western Mass. sellers and growers seek relief from high court by Jim Kinney, The Springfield Republican: 'Plaintiffs growing, selling and delivering legal marijuana in Massachusetts now have two court decisions against them, but aren't giving up. They seek to overturn a federal law they say strangles their business. They were turned back last week by the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. But plaintiffs say their fight against the Richard Nixon-era Controlled Substances Act of 1970 is not over.' FROM THE 413 — ICE takes two into custody Wednesday morning in Amherst by Scott Merzbach, Daily Hampshire Gazette: 'Amherst officials are notifying the community about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions in which two individuals were taken into custody, in separate incidents, Wednesday between 7 and 8 a.m.' — Pittsfield City Council gives initial OK to 10 city budgets by Maryjane Williams, The Berkshire Eagle. THE LOCAL ANGLE — Holy Family Hospital in Haverhill cuts overnight care, pursues 'satellite emergency' status by Jill Harmacinski, The Eagle-Tribune: 'Plans are underway for Holy Family Hospital in Haverhill to become a 'satellite emergency facility' with 59 beds for overnight admissions now being phased out, officials said. Surgical services ended in March at HFH Haverhill and intensive care unit services have been unavailable there since 2024 before Lawrence General Hospital assumed ownership after the Steward health care system collapse.' — $70 million in bonds in pipeline for New Bedford's water systems by Colin Hogan, The New Bedford Light: 'A new bond order advanced in City Council last Thursday will kick off the latest round of work — $70 million in total — for the Whaling City to repair, replace, and improve its water systems: stormwater, wastewater, and lead pipes alike.' — In Nantucket, fears of an economic chilling effect after ICE sting by Danny McDonald, The Boston Globe. — — Renters find relief at Worcester legal clinic to clear their eviction records by Sam Turken, GBH News. HEARD 'ROUND THE BUBBLAH HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to CNN's Eric Levenson, Senate Ways & Means Chair Michael Rodrigues, Bill Fonda, Natasha Sarin, Ayanna Pressley alum Luisa Peña Lyons and Wes Ritchie. HAPPY BIRTHWEEKEND — to WPRI's Ted Nesi, Katie Sagarin and Gena Mangiaratti, who celebrate Saturday.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ann Fisher-Wirth named Mississippi's Poet Laureate
JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Governor Tate Reeves (R-Miss.) appointed poet Ann Fisher-Wirth, of Oxford, as Mississippi's Poet Laureate. Serving as the official state poet for a term of four years, the state's Poet Laureate creates and reads appropriate poetry at state occasions, promotes literacy, and represents the rich cultural heritage of Mississippi. 'It is with great pleasure that I announce the appointment of Ann Fisher-Wirth as Mississippi's new Poet Laureate,' said Reeves. 'I am confident that Ann will represent our state with grace and dedication, fostering a deep appreciation for poetry and literature throughout Mississippi.' Fisher-Wirth retired in 2022 from the University of Mississippi, where she taught for 33 years in the MFA program and directed the Environmental Studies program. She is preceded in the role of Poet Laureate by Catherine Pierce. Mississippi State gets $1 million for indoor practice facility 'I am thrilled to be chosen as Mississippi's Poet Laureate for 2025-2029,' said Fisher-Wirth. 'I look forward to continuing the wonderful work that Catherine Pierce developed through the Mississippi Young Writers Poetry contests and festivals. Thank you so much for this incredible honor!' A senior fellow of the Black Earth Institute, Fisher-Wirth received Fulbright scholarships to Switzerland and Sweden. She has had residencies at Djerassi, Hedgebrook, Storyknife, The Mesa Refuge, and Camac; in October 2025, she will be in residence at Studio Faire in the South of France. She received the 2023 Governor's Award for Excellence in Literature and Poetry from the Mississippi Arts Commission. She has also received three Mississippi Arts Commission Poetry Fellowships, the MS Institute of Arts Poetry Award, and fifteen Pushcart nominations. Fisher-Wirth's term as Poet Laureate will expire on April 15, 2029. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Simon Armitage ‘excited to be northerner' getting City of London freedom
Simon Armitage has said he is 'excited' to receive the freedom of the City of London, despite being a northerner all his life. The Poet Laurete, who was brought up in Marsden, West Yorkshire, attended the ceremony on Wednesday at the Barbican Centre's Conservatory, the first time it was held there. The Freedom ceremony is mostly held in the Chamberlain's Court at Guildhall or The Mansion House. Armitage's recognition was for 'his outstanding achievements in the written word and his enthusiastic promotion of poetry, in particular, to the younger generation'. He said: 'This is a wonderful and exciting honour. I'm a northerner and have lived in West Yorkshire all my life, but through poetry and all its different manifestations, London has become a home from home, the place I know best outside my own postcode. 'The city itself has always been something of a mystery to me until recent years when I've started exploring it more for work and pleasure. 'The freedom feels like an invitation to spend even more time in a place that feels truly historic yet determinedly futuristic, a sort of visa in my poetic passport. Thank you – expect me any moment.' Following the ceremony, the poet gave a reading of his works, and in addition two people from the Barbican's artist development programme recited an original poem inspired by his writing. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Simon Armitage (@simonarmitage_official) Armitage was appointed as Poet Laureate in May 2019, succeeding Scottish poet Dame Carol Ann Duffy. He is professor of poetry at the University of Leeds, and has written around 30 collections of poetry – starting with Zoom! in 1989. The former probation officer's work is studied by children as part of the national curriculum, and he most recently released Magnetic Field: The Marsden Poems in 2020 and Blossomise in 2024, a limited-edition collaboration with artist Angela Harding. Armitage, nominated for the Freedom by the recorder of London, his honour Mark Lucraft KC, and honorary secondary of London, Fiona Adler, from the Old Bailey, follows in the footsteps of comedian Sir Lenny Henry and British actor, musician and filmmaker Giles Terera. Mr Lucraft said: 'As prolific and versatile as he is popular and accessible, Simon Armitage is one of our finest poets – now, almost six years into the historic position of Poet Laureate – and also a talented musician, playwright, and novelist. 'It has given my colleague, Fiona Adler, and I tremendous pleasure to support his admission into the Freedom, which is richly deserved, and we hope that he will have fond memories of his ceremony for many years to come.' Armitage has translated major classic texts, including the Odyssey and medieval romances Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, written non-fiction work Walking Home: Travels With A Troubadour On The Pennine Way and is the frontman of the ambient post-rock band LYR. For the Platinum Jubilee, Armitage wrote a poem, Queenhood, to mark the late Queen's 70 years of service, and when she died he put out Floral Tribute in remembrance of her reign. The tradition of the freedom of the city is believed to date back to 1237.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
How Black poets built the 'centrifugal force' in modern American literature
In December 1990, poet Cornelius Eady, now 71, was feeling dispirited by the literary world. He'd attended the Assn. of Writers & Writing Programs conference in Denver that year and felt like he was the only Black poet in attendance. 'I wasn't,' he assures me, all these decades later. 'But it felt that way. I was on an island. I felt like I was the only person there. I couldn't stand it. And I was doing an interview back then and I asked, 'Well, why can't we have a place that's just for us?'' It would be six years before Eady and fellow poet Toi Derricotte, now 83, came up with a tangible answer. Together, they imagined a place where Black poets wouldn't have to explain or defend themselves. Eady and Derricotte planned a retreat that would be equal parts literary workshop and summer camp, free of charge, for Black poets. They called it Cave Canem. Named after a sign in Latin that Derricotte had seen while visiting the House of the Tragic Poet in Pompeii, Cave Canem ('Beware of the Dog') was envisioned as a community-building enterprise. There, Black poets of all stripes could tune out the world and instead fine-tune their craft. Eady and Derricotte knew finding institutional support for such a project would be difficult if not impossible. And so, in a fit of brilliant folly, they decided to take it on themselves — financially and logistically. Close to 30 years later and now a registered nonprofit, Cave Canem is able to offer free tuition for its annual summer retreat. It's hosted more than 550 fellows, including literary luminary Danez Smith, Pulitzer Prize winner Jericho Brown, Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award winner Ross Gay, and U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith. Its faculty, meanwhile, has boasted the likes of MacArthur Fellows Terrance Hayes and Claudia Rankine, PEN award winner Harryette Mullen, and National Book Award winner Nikky Finney. With yearlong programming and two annual book prizes of its own, Cave Canem's mission is best exemplified by those two weeks a year spent at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, Pa., where the retreat has been based since 2003. The first retreat took place at Mount St. Alphonsus, a former seminary in Esopus, N.Y. Those who gathered there in 1996 were encouraged to sit in a circle and introduce themselves to one another. The question posed to these poets in other spaces — 'Why are you here?' — was not a hostile challenge but an opening. 'Somebody started crying as they started talking,' Derricotte recalls. 'And nobody went over to pat him on the back or hold him or anything. They let him cry. And that's why it took three hours.' The spirit of that inaugural meeting remains intact. What the opening circle offered and continues to offer Cave Canem fellows is the space to be fully, truly themselves. The exercise is driven by the conviction that what each of these poets bring to the table is enough. And that what they will create or share in that space will be held with care. For Morgan Parker, author of the National Book Critics Circle Award-winning 'Magical Negro' (2019) and a Cave Canem fellow (2012, 2014, 2015), the opening circle was a welcome exercise. 'That introduction sets the bar in terms of vulnerability,' Parker says. 'Yes, there will be rigor. And yes, there will be a lot of poetry-making. And yes, there could be poet laureates and prizes in your future. But for right now, this is about opening up and caring for each other as we do that. It makes this space really personal. Obviously poetry is personal, but I've been to a lot of different programs and workshops and that's not always the things we lead with, this caring for the individual.' As such, Cave Canem prides itself on being a place where belonging and community are one and the same. It's also why the mix of fellows any given year includes emerging and established writers, recent grads in their 20s and working poets in their 80s, those working within established traditions and those experimenting with form. 'It had to be for all Black poets,' as Eady puts it. 'To underscore the idea that there's no one way of being a Black poet. That it's all legitimate.' For Evie Shockley, a Pulitzer Prize finalist who was first a fellow (1997, 1998, 1999) and later returned as a faculty member, Cave Canem has made room for expansive ideas of what that means. She recalls how having Mullen and Rankine as instructors and seeing the experimental Black Took Collective established during the retreat was eye-opening for an emerging poet like herself. 'It was transformative,' Shockley says. 'I won't say that without Cave Canem I wouldn't have been a poet. But it happened so early in my period of being serious about writing that I have no sense of what my writing would have been without it.' Similarly, it seems impossible to imagine what contemporary American poetry would look like without this longstanding organization. 'If there was a centrifugal force in American letters over the last 25 years, it is undeniable that it has been Cave Canem,' Reginald Dwayne Betts (2006, 2007) says. 'It's been largely out of the power of literature. It hasn't been driven by the power of commerce. The work has actually been creating these opportunities for writers to become better at their craft.' Or, as Derricotte has put it, the focus is on 'doing the work' and seeing traditions and aesthetics, lineages and linkages, constantly forged and foregrounded. 'The first year I went, I brought a pantoum of sound,' Nikia Chaney (1997, 1999, 2002), a California-based poet, recalls. 'It doesn't really make sense. You just have to kind of follow the sound. I still remember the reception that I got from it. Angela Jackson said, 'You're scatting on the page.' I never really thought that some of my interests had a tradition.' For Betts, a recent MacArthur Fellow and the author of 'Felon: Poems' and 'Shahid Reads His Own Palm,' Cave Canem was similarly an entry point into the canon of Black poetry he'd first encountered while incarcerated. Back then he didn't know that many of the poets he was reading were associated with Eady and Derricotte's brainchild. When he attended the retreat as a fellow in 2006, he found himself in community with poets he'd long thought of as heroes of his — heroes he's now in direct conversation with, on and off the page. 'I once called Sonia Sanchez at like 10 o'clock at night to read her a poem,' he says. 'But I also got a chance to listen to her about how much she missed her good friend Toni Morrison, and how she missed the days when Amiri Baraka would call her to read a poem in the middle of the night.' Here was a living, breathing canon of American letters being nurtured across generations. To Lynne Thompson, a former poet laureate of Los Angeles and the current board president of Cave Canem, therein lies the key conceit of the program. 'How can we provide community for them, where they feel free to express themselves as poets, as well as find every way we can to get the reading public to understand that the American voice is very diverse and well worth reading?' she says. As it nears its 30th anniversary, Cave Canem has lofty ambitions to continue that mission. Just last year it launched a digital archives collection and announced, alongside Ithaka S+R, 'Magnitude and Bond: A Field Study on Black Literary Arts Service Organizations,' a research project that will examine the organizational needs, strategies and models behind such institutions. Most of all, though, Cave Canem is a reflection of the ethos everyone involved in it has brought to bear on the endeavor. 'It's like writing a great poem,' Derricotte says. 'It's mysterious. You don't know what's going to happen. It has taken so much brilliance and so many people coming at the right time. But it's all about leaving the space for not knowing and believing and trusting Black people. Trusting Black poets. And that's what happened.' Get the latest book news, events and more in your inbox every Saturday. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
14-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
How Black poets built the ‘centrifugal force' in modern American literature
In December 1990, poet Cornelius Eady, now 71, was feeling dispirited by the literary world. He'd attended the Assn. of Writers & Writing Programs conference in Denver that year and felt like he was the only Black poet in attendance. 'I wasn't,' he assures me, all these decades later. 'But it felt that way. I was on an island. I felt like I was the only person there. I couldn't stand it. And I was doing an interview back then and I asked, 'Well, why can't we have a place that's just for us?'' It would be six years before Eady and fellow poet Toi Derricotte, now 83, came up with a tangible answer. Together, they imagined a place where Black poets wouldn't have to explain or defend themselves. Eady and Derricotte planned a retreat that would be equal parts literary workshop and summer camp, free of charge, for Black poets. They called it Cave Canem. Named after a sign in Latin that Derricotte had seen while visiting the House of the Tragic Poet in Pompeii, Cave Canem ('Beware of the Dog') was envisioned as a community-building enterprise. There, Black poets of all stripes could tune out the world and instead fine-tune their craft. Eady and Derricotte knew finding institutional support for such a project would be difficult if not impossible. And so, in a fit of brilliant folly, they decided to take it on themselves — financially and logistically. Close to 30 years later and now a registered nonprofit, Cave Canem is able to offer free tuition for its annual summer retreat. It's hosted more than 550 fellows, including literary luminary Danez Smith, Pulitzer Prize winner Jericho Brown, Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award winner Ross Gay, and U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith. Its faculty, meanwhile, has boasted the likes of MacArthur Fellows Terrance Hayes and Claudia Rankine, PEN award winner Harryette Mullen, and National Book Award winner Nikky Finney. With yearlong programming and two annual book prizes of its own, Cave Canem's mission is best exemplified by those two weeks a year spent at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, Pa., where the retreat has been based since 2003. The first retreat took place at Mount St. Alphonsus, a former seminary in Esopus, N.Y. Those who gathered there in 1996 were encouraged to sit in a circle and introduce themselves to one another. The question posed to these poets in other spaces — 'Why are you here?' — was not a hostile challenge but an opening. 'Somebody started crying as they started talking,' Derricotte recalls. 'And nobody went over to pat him on the back or hold him or anything. They let him cry. And that's why it took three hours.' The spirit of that inaugural meeting remains intact. What the opening circle offered and continues to offer Cave Canem fellows is the space to be fully, truly themselves. The exercise is driven by the conviction that what each of these poets bring to the table is enough. And that what they will create or share in that space will be held with care. For Morgan Parker, author of the National Book Critics Circle Award-winning 'Magical Negro' (2019) and a Cave Canem fellow (2012, 2014, 2015), the opening circle was a welcome exercise. 'That introduction sets the bar in terms of vulnerability,' Parker says. 'Yes, there will be rigor. And yes, there will be a lot of poetry-making. And yes, there could be poet laureates and prizes in your future. But for right now, this is about opening up and caring for each other as we do that. It makes this space really personal. Obviously poetry is personal, but I've been to a lot of different programs and workshops and that's not always the things we lead with, this caring for the individual.' As such, Cave Canem prides itself on being a place where belonging and community are one and the same. It's also why the mix of fellows any given year includes emerging and established writers, recent grads in their 20s and working poets in their 80s, those working within established traditions and those experimenting with form. 'It had to be for all Black poets,' as Eady puts it. 'To underscore the idea that there's no one way of being a Black poet. That it's all legitimate.' For Evie Shockley, a Pulitzer Prize finalist who was first a fellow (1997, 1998, 1999) and later returned as a faculty member, Cave Canem has made room for expansive ideas of what that means. She recalls how having Mullen and Rankine as instructors and seeing the experimental Black Took Collective established during the retreat was eye-opening for an emerging poet like herself. 'It was transformative,' Shockley says. 'I won't say that without Cave Canem I wouldn't have been a poet. But it happened so early in my period of being serious about writing that I have no sense of what my writing would have been without it.' Similarly, it seems impossible to imagine what contemporary American poetry would look like without this longstanding organization. 'If there was a centrifugal force in American letters over the last 25 years, it is undeniable that it has been Cave Canem,' Reginald Dwayne Betts (2006, 2007) says. 'It's been largely out of the power of literature. It hasn't been driven by the power of commerce. The work has actually been creating these opportunities for writers to become better at their craft.' Or, as Derricotte has put it, the focus is on 'doing the work' and seeing traditions and aesthetics, lineages and linkages, constantly forged and foregrounded. 'The first year I went, I brought a pantoum of sound,' Nikia Chaney (1997, 1999, 2002), a California-based poet, recalls. 'It doesn't really make sense. You just have to kind of follow the sound. I still remember the reception that I got from it. Angela Jackson said, 'You're scatting on the page.' I never really thought that some of my interests had a tradition.' For Betts, a recent MacArthur Fellow and the author of 'Felon: Poems' and 'Shahid Reads His Own Palm,' Cave Canem was similarly an entry point into the canon of Black poetry he'd first encountered while incarcerated. Back then he didn't know that many of the poets he was reading were associated with Eady and Derricotte's brainchild. When he attended the retreat as a fellow in 2006, he found himself in community with poets he'd long thought of as heroes of his — heroes he's now in direct conversation with, on and off the page. 'I once called Sonia Sanchez at like 10 o'clock at night to read her a poem,' he says. 'But I also got a chance to listen to her about how much she missed her good friend Toni Morrison, and how she missed the days when Amiri Baraka would call her to read a poem in the middle of the night.' Here was a living, breathing canon of American letters being nurtured across generations. To Lynne Thompson, a former poet laureate of Los Angeles and the current board president of Cave Canem, therein lies the key conceit of the program. 'How can we provide community for them, where they feel free to express themselves as poets, as well as find every way we can to get the reading public to understand that the American voice is very diverse and well worth reading?' she says. As it nears its 30th anniversary, Cave Canem has lofty ambitions to continue that mission. Just last year it launched a digital archives collection and announced, alongside Ithaka S+R, 'Magnitude and Bond: A Field Study on Black Literary Arts Service Organizations,' a research project that will examine the organizational needs, strategies and models behind such institutions. Most of all, though, Cave Canem is a reflection of the ethos everyone involved in it has brought to bear on the endeavor. 'It's like writing a great poem,' Derricotte says. 'It's mysterious. You don't know what's going to happen. It has taken so much brilliance and so many people coming at the right time. But it's all about leaving the space for not knowing and believing and trusting Black people. Trusting Black poets. And that's what happened.'
