THE ACADEMY OF AMERICAN POETS AWARDS $1.1 MILLION 

TO TWENTY-TWO POETS LAUREATE ACROSS THE UNITED STATES

Celebrating the sixth cohort of Poet Laureate Fellows, made possible by the Mellon Foundation

New York, NY (August 6, 2024)—The Academy of American Poets, a leading financial supporter of poets in the United States, announced today that it is awarding $50,000 each to its 2024 Poet Laureate Fellows for a combined total of $1.1 million. These twenty-two individuals serve as poets laureate of states, counties, and cities across the nation and will be leading public poetry programs in their respective communities from 2024–25. The Academy will additionally match $80,000+ in in-kind contributions and cash donations provided by local 501(c)3 organizations, community members, and foundations in support of the fellows’ projects. 

“Poems bridge distances between people,” said Ricardo Maldonado, President and Executive Director of the Academy. “For ninety years, the Academy of American Poets has honored how poets nourish our spirit through poems, inviting us to reflect and commit to each other. I am excited to celebrate the work of our Poet Laureate Fellows across the country, elevating civil discourse and reminding us of the true possibility of a shared future.”

Through its Poet Laureate Fellowship program, the Academy of American Poets has awarded a total of $6.55 million in fellowships to one hundred and twenty-six poets laureate in one hundred and five different communitiesacross the nationsince 2019, when the program was launched. Additionally, the Academy has given more than $440,000 in matching grants to secure project support from fifty-eight local 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. The fellowship program is made possible by the Mellon Foundation. 

“These exceptional writers share the distinctive responsibility of advancing action, advocacy, and civic transformation in their communities through the power of poetry,” said Mellon Foundation President Elizabeth Alexander. “We at Mellon are pleased to provide them with the additional resources needed to carry out this mission, building further appreciation of and engagement with the written word across the United States.”

“The Academy of American Poets sends deep appreciation to the adjudication panelists for their sensitivity, expertise, and collective wisdom: Asari Beale, Executive Director of Teachers & Writers Collaborative; Nora Halpern, art historian, curator, and museum director; Airea D. Matthews, Philadelphia Poet Laureate; Olivia Morgan, founder of National Student Poets; and, Porsha Olayiwola, Boston Poet Laureate,” said Tess O’Dwyer, Board Chair. “We thank our visionary partners at the Mellon Foundation for helping the Academy to build more vibrant and compassionate communities through a dynamic array of American poetry programs.”

The 2024 Poet Laureate Fellows and the communities they serve are Julia Bouwsma (Maine), Angelika Brewer (Ogden, UT), Traci Brimhall (Kansas), Ching-In Chen (Redmond, WA), Kai Coggin (Hot Springs, AR), Nandi Comer (Michigan), Tongo Eisen-Martin (San Francisco, CA), Heid E. Erdrich (Minneapolis, MN), Andrea Gibson (Colorado), Amanda Johnston (Texas), Patricia Spears Jones (New York), Alison Pelegrin (Louisiana), Charlotte Pence (Mobile, AL), Georgia A. Popoff (Onondaga County, NY), Jean Prokott (Rochester, MN), Joseph Rios (Fresno, CA), Lois Roma-Deeley (Scottsdale, AZ), Emily Schulten (Key West, FL), Tess Taylor (El Cerrito, CA), Arianne True (Washington State), Kerri Webster (Idaho), and avery r. young (Chicago, IL).

Additional information about the 2024 Poet Laureate Fellows and their projects: 

Julia Bouwsma, Poet Laureate of Maine

Julia Bouwsma will launch the Write ME Epistolary Poetry Project, a statewide, multi-phase project that uses epistolary poetry—poetry in the form of exchanged letters—to build connections and communication across Maine, a large, rural state affected by geographic, economic, political, racial, and cultural divisions. The project will culminate in a hybrid celebration featuring readings, displays of epistolary exchanges, panels, and performances.

Bouwsma lives on a small off-the-grid farm in the mountains of western Maine where she works as a poet, editor, teacher, and the director of Webster Library in Kingfield. She is the author of three poetry collections: Death Fluorescence (Sundress Publications, 2025); Midden (Fordham University Press, 2018); and Work by Bloodlight (Cider Press Review, 2017).