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You'll Be Able To Purchase Elizabeth Alexander's Inauguration Poem

You'll Be Able To Purchase Elizabeth Alexander's Inauguration Poem

Publishing/Literary

From Publishers Weekly:

On inauguration day, Graywolf plans to publish the poem as a chapbook commemorating the event and Alexander's participation in it with a minimum first print run of 100,000 copies. The press is also planning on reprinting all of Alexander's works, with a focus on Black Interior (2004), a collection of essays, and American Sublime (2005), her latest collection of poems, which will be reprinted in a 20,000-copy print run. Read the entire article.

I'll be copping one, for sure!

Here's the press release from Graywolf:

ELIZABETH ALEXANDER
TO READ AT BARACK OBAMA'S INAUGURATION
Alexander only the fourth poet in United States history to read at a presidential inauguration

December 17, 2008--Graywolf Press is delighted to announce that poet Elizabeth Alexander will read an original poem at the inauguration of Barack Obama, the forty-fourth president of the United States of America. The event will take place on January 20, 2009, and will feature musical guests Aretha Franklin, Yo-Yo Ma, and Itzhak Perlman. 
 
Elizabeth Alexander will be the fourth poet in United States history to read at a presidential inauguration. Previous inaugural poets were Robert Frost at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy, and Maya Angelou and Miller Williams at the inaugurations of William Jefferson Clinton. Graywolf Press will publish a chapbook featuring her original work to commemorate this historic event.
 
Publisher and director of Graywolf Press Fiona McCrae was delighted by the news: "This is a brilliant and absolutely right choice for the president of change. Elizabeth Alexander has established herself as an important voice for a new generation.  She is a citizen poet--passionate, deeply engaged, with an expansive, inclusive sensibility.  Here is a president who is a lifelong reader and a thoughtful writer himself. It's perfect that once again poetry shares the stage at this historic inauguration."
 
The program participants were invited by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies and chosen by the Chairman, the President-elect, and the Vice President-elect. In addition to Senator Feinstein, the members of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies include: Senator Bob Bennett, Ranking Member of the Senate Rules Committee; Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid; Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi; House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer; and House Republican Leader John Boehner.
 
Alice Quinn from the Poetry Society of America wrote,"Elizabeth Alexander is an inspired choice for this historic role. She is a marvelous poet, an incisive and influential scholar, and one of the great citizens of the literary world. What a joy it will be to see her and hear her at that podium on that day!"

Elizabeth Alexander was born in New York City and raised in Washington, D.C. She is the author of four collections of poetry, American Sublime, Antebellum Dream Book, The Venus Hottentot, and Body of Life, which was a finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry. She is also the author of two collections of essays, The Black Interior and Power and Possibilities: Essays, Interviews, Reviews, and a collection of poems for young adults, Miss Crandall's School for Young Ladies and Little Misses of Colors (co-authored with Marilyn Nelson). She recently edited The Essential Gwendolyn Brooks. She has read her work across the United States and in Europe, the Caribbean, and South America, and her poetry, short stories, and critical prose have been published in numerous periodicals and anthologies. She has received many awards and honors, most recently the Alphonse Fletcher Sr. Fellowship for work that "contributes to improving race relations in American society and furthers the broad social goals of the U.S. Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision of 1954," and the 2007 Jackson Prize for Poetry, awarded by Poets and Writers. Alexander is a professor of African American Studies and American Studies at Yale University, and also teaches in the Cave Canem Poetry Workshop. She lives with her family in New Haven, Connecticut.
 

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