December 17, 2008 -- Elizabeth Alexander, the 2007 recipient of Poets &
Writers’ Jackson Poetry Prize (the prize’s first-ever recipient), has been
selected to read at the inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama, it was
announced today by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.
According to the Washington
Post, “Alexander, 45, would be only the fourth poet to read at a
swearing-in after [Robert] Frost, who read at John F. Kennedy's in 1961, Maya
Angelou, who read at Bill Clinton's in 1993, and Miller Williams, who read in
Elizabeth Alexander is a poet, essayist, playwright, and
teacher. She is the author of four books of poems, American Sublime (Graywolf
Press, 2005), which was one of three finalists for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize; The
Venus Hottentot (Graywolf Press, 2004); Antebellum Dream Book (Graywolf
Press, 2001); and Body of Life (Northwestern University Press,
1997). She is also a scholar of African-American literature and culture and
recently published a collection of essays, The Black Interior (Graywolf
Press, 2003). She has read her work across the
Click here to view a video Elizabeth Alexander reading her work at the Poets & Writers' Jackson Poetry Prize ceremony in May 2007. Click here to read an interview with Ms. Alexander from the November/December 2001 issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.
Established in 2007, the annual $50,000 prize honors an
American poet of exceptional talent who has published at least one book of
recognized literary merit but has not yet received major national acclaim.
The Liana Foundation (established by the John and Susan Jackson Family) recently announced it will donate $2 million to Poets & Writers to endow the Jackson Poetry Prize. The gift is the largest in the organization’s history. For more information about the Jackson Poetry Prize, click here.
Photo by C.J. Gunther