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."
Linda Watanabe McFerrin Interviewed for Author Matthew Felix’s Video Podcast
Author and poet Linda Watanabe McFerrin sat down with Matthew Felix, himself an author of some renown, for Matthew’s video podcast this last weekend. What follows is an in-depth, thoughtful, and often irreverent look at writing, life, travel, and zombies. And more, we get to hear many of the juicy details on Linda’s new Legacy Book due out from ASP in Autumn 2019…
Fact or Fiction
…And so it is for me, as I send an invented “namesake” into worlds I know vicariously but haven’t lived—Hollywood and hippies, communes and con artists, Woodstock and the Summer of Love. In the opening of Melanie’s Song, J.J. is poised at the edge of the Pacific reflecting on where she has been and where she is going. She is endowed with a deep and spiritual connection to a native place we share, but I am also setting her free to fly into her own undiscovered territory.
Featured Poetry: “Bluebirds” by Grace Cavalieri
Other Voices, Other Lives was my introduction to Grace. Her book sits now on my shelf between The Waves and Duino Elegies, the pages are worn from thumbing-thru, it is dog-eared, destroyed in certain ways well-loved books are destroyed, aged by the eyes, like good denim, but here the creases are black underlines, and the fading is from yellow highlighter and coffee stains. So in honor of, well, my deep admiration for Grace, I’ve picked one of her poems from Other Voices, Other Lives to share. If this is the first encounter with her poetry, welcome, hello, the books page is just yonder up the screen under “books”! If you’ve long been a fan, I think “Bluebirds” is a great poem to share with those who might not yet have been introduced to Grace’s work.