NEA, NEH Supports Wesleyan U. Press, Humanities Books, Fellowships at Wesleyan

On Dec. 8, Wesleyan received a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts and two grants from National Endowment for the Humanities. The grants will support a poetry program at Wesleyan University Press, a faculty fellowship, and electronic dance and theater publications.

The NEA provided an Art Works award of $25,000 to Wesleyan University Press to support its poetry program. The Art Works category of the NEA supports the creation and presentation of both new and existing work — a goal that aligns with the mission of the Wesleyan University Press, a program that has already published an internationally renowned poetry series, which collected five Pulitzer Prizes, a Bollingen, and two National Book Awards.

“The arts are part of our everyday lives — no matter who you are or where you live – they have the power to transform individuals, spark economic vibrancy in communities, and transcend the boundaries across diverse sectors of society,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. “Supporting projects like the one from Wesleyan University Press offers more opportunities to engage in the arts every day.”

The Art Works award will support the publication and promotion of books of poetry. The press will publish works by Rae Armantrout, Blunt Research Group, Peter Gizzi, Ted Greenwald and Mark McMorris. Books will be accompanied by online reader companions for teachers, students and general readers, and will be promoted through social media, the press’s website, newsletter and author events.

Sumarsam, University Professor of Music, received a $50,400 fellowship grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to fund his project titled “Expressing and Contesting Java-Islam through Performing Arts in Indonesia.” Sumarsam is planning to complete this fellowship during the Spring 2017 and Fall 2017 semesters.

In addition, Wesleyan’s Humanities Open Book Program will receive $100,000 from the NEH for a reissue of 18 foundational books in dance and theater as free e-publications.

Read more in this Middletown Press article.