“In 1999 I got an NEA at a low time: no publisher for my first book, no full-time job teaching, though teaching was a vocation I felt strongly. The NEA convinced the school at which I was a visiting instructor to hire me for a tenure-track position: The NEA conferred honor and validation. It also gave me confidence to keep writing. The NEA also has added its support, for years, to my publisher, Copper Canyon Press: Countless books of poetry are in the world because of the work of the NEA.”
The National Endowment for the Arts is the largest single funder of the arts across America and has helped make Poets.org possible. Learn more about how you can support the NEA.