The Academy of American Poets is pleased to announce that Natalie Diaz, Nikky Finney, and Tracy K. Smith have been elected to its Board of Chancellors. In this role, the three poets will consult with the Academy on matters of artistic programming, serve as judges for the organization’s largest legacy prizes for poets, and act as ambassadors of poetry in the world at large.
This Chancellor election is also history-making for the Academy in several ways: at 42 years old, Diaz is the youngest Chancellor ever elected; for the first time the Board of Chancellors is a majority of poets of color and a majority women (10 women, 5 men). This is also the largest number of women of color to ever serve as Chancellors of the Academy of American Poets.