Very special thanks to Jen Benka for quoting my poem in her Letter in the Fall-Winter 2022 issue of American Poets! (My poem is part of the Laureate Fellows’ Collaborative Poem that is also featured in the issue.)
This is bittersweet as Jen is transitioning out of her role as President & Executive Director of The Academy of American Poets after a decade of leading the organization. The Academy currently has more than 30 million readers and more than a quarter of a million subscribers. Under Jen’s leadership, “the Academy has tripled its budget, developed award-winning educational programs, created and helped encourage new programs supporting poets of color, raised and awarded millions to fund poets’ community projects and smaller poetry organizations, launched new prizes for poets, fostered a national Poetry Coalition, and helped lead COVID-19 emergency relief funds during the pandemic supporting many hundreds of poets and literary organizations.” Jen, what an extraordinary legacy! Thank you for lifting us up and shining your light. Congratulations, with much excitement for your new chapter!
Read The Laureate Fellows’ Collaborative Poem here.
Photo by: Jeanne-Marie Osterman
Aileen Cassinetto 