Patricia Grodd
Patricia Grodd received her BA degree from Kenyon College and holds graduate degrees from Columbia University in English literature and a degree in psychotherapy from New York University. She is a licensed bibliotherapist and a member of the National Association of Poetry Therapy. She has taught poetry in a number of continuing adult-education programs and in programs serving populations in need, such as the homeless and incarcerated, as well as both mentally ill and terminally ill patients. As a Wordsworth scholar and a Patron Trustee of the William Wordsworth Trust, she is involved in the trust’s development pertaining to its uses of archival material, lectures, and education.
In addition to having served on the Academy of American Poets and its Emeritus Circle, Grodd has served as a trustee of The Kenyon Review, as well as for the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP). Additionally, she actively works on behalf of PEN America. Grodd is the founder and sponsor of the annual Patricia Grodd Poetry Prize for Young Writers, which is among the top poetry prizes in the United States for young writers. A published poet, Grodd also held senior executive positions in the fashion industry at Condé Nast, Ralph Lauren, and Paul Stuart earlier in her career.
Upon being announced as the recipient of a 2025 Academy of American Poets Leadership Award, Grodd said:
As Paul Éluard wrote, "there is another world, and it is in this one."
Poetry is a changing of our singular and collective vision. Entering a poem, we taste, feel, hear, think, and see life in truer ways. Why invite life into art at all, if not to be transformed and enlarged by its presence? We hunger for more in us, more range, more sustenance within, more depth, feeling, insight, associative freedom, beauty and, most of all, more connection to existence and to others. Indeed, a more enhanced capacity to be astonished. An exultation! And by changing ourselves, poetry in turn changes the outer world that we create and share. Simply put, poetry transfigures and transforms us.
The Academy of American Poets is the most vital organization in the United States that is devoted to poetry. We are passionate champions of poetry and poets. I have always been struck by the devotion and dedication of those who work at the Academy, as well as those serving on the Board, in supporting poets and poetry and, thereby, enhancing ourselves and our world. I admire our prestigious Chancellery of top poets in the country and the many poet laureates who work with the Academy to support this precious art form. I am particularly proud of the Academy’s educational programs which bring poets and poetry to students, young and old, as well as educators.
It has been one of the joys of my life to work with colleagues at the Academy who share my commitment to and love of poetry. I consider myself very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with so many illustrious poets and lovers of poetry, all validating my own recognition of the importance of poetry in our world. I believe that poetry has curative powers that are much needed in these turbulent times. Indeed, poetry has been declared the number one self-help modality by the American Psychiatric Association. I will always treasure the opportunities that the Academy has afforded me to spread the storied magic of poetry.