Grace Cavalieri’s “The Poet and The Poem” Receives Grant From MD Humanities
The Other Voices, Other Lives author says of the grant, "It seems like a modest amount, but if you need that amount, it is abundant.”
MD Poet laureate, 2-time Ginsberg Prize winner, and WIRoB lifetime achievement honoree, Grace Cavalieri, received her latest honor this Tuesday, a $1000 grant, for her long-running radio program and podcast, The Poet and the Poem. The grant comes from Maryland Humanities whose aim is to "support nonprofit organizations who are using humanities to inspire Marylanders."
A recent article in The Sun by Jack Hogan elaborates:
"President and founder of Forest Woods Media Productions and Maryland poet laureate, Grace Cavalieri, said the funding her organization received was “the perfect thing at the perfect time.” She added that funding for poetry is often hard to come by and donations like this can go a long way.
“That thousand dollars, it seems like a modest amount, but if you need that amount, it is abundant,” she said.
Cavalieri said the grant her organization received will be used to help fund 15 programs as part of her radio series, “The Poet and the Poem: Voices of Maryland Poets”, which since 1977 has been a platform for Maryland poets to share and discuss their work. The funding will be used for post-production work like audio editing, adding music and credits.
Each of the 15 programs will feature a different poet and will be aired beginning in January 2021 on the Maryland State Arts Council website, iTunes and public radio."
Featured Audio: Rose Solari reads “The Beginning, 1939”
In “The Beginning, 1939” Rose Solari’s mastery of recitation is put to the music of her capricious mother and the frantic hopes of her father who wishes to leave “no long, tight pauses for her to fill.” I’ve written before about Rose’s use of swing and rhythmic motifs in her work, elements which are alive in this poem, but what is really mesmerizing to me about “1939” is the musical image toward the end which harbors no pretense of cramming lieder into language, but instead focuses on the very physical act of her mother playing the piano:
Mikaela Lefrak Examines the Life of Maryland Poet Laureate, Grace Cavalieri
The beloved Grace Cavalieri “contains multitudes” according to Mikaela Lefrak in her newest article from WAMU taking a look at the life and career of the 10th Poet Laureate. And Ms. Lefrak treats her subject with the due respect of a life which cannot be covered succinctly in 500 words. She delivers a reverent tourists’ view of Grace Cavalieri’s life, hitting the big things: her poetry and work ethic, the passing of her husband, Kenneth Flynn, her conversion to Buddhism, and finally her new tenure as Poet Laureate.
Listen to Grace Cavalieri on the Kojo Nnamdi Show
Grace Cavalieri’s recent stop at NPR’s The Kojo Nnamdi show is now streamable. Over a substantive 22 minutes, listen to Grace talk about poetry, inspiration, and her plans as the 10th Maryland Poet Laureate.