Zoeglossia Awarded $25K Grant for Digital Outreach
Zoeglossia members during a Zoom meeting pictured on the screen of a laptop.
Las Cruces, NM (January 20, 2023)—The Academy of American Poets announced today that Zoeglossia is one of fifty-three independent non-profit literary organizations that present poetry or serve poets that will receive a two-year capacity-building grant from the Academy of America Poets in 2023 and 2024. Zoeglossia received a $25,000 grant ($12,500 each year) to support its social media outreach.
“This grant will help Zoeglossia establish a strong social media presence and strengthen our ongoing Poem of the Week Series, recently renamed, “A Liminal Space,” as a platform for spotlighting and championing diverse disabled voices,” said Sheila Black, Executive Director of Zoeglossia.
“I second that,” said Saleem Hue Penny, Zoeglossia’s Director of Programs and Partnerships. “A welcoming, compelling, and fully accessible digital presence is essential to build new partnerships and support our Fellows. As many emerging poets lack resources for marketing, our homepage has the opportunity to literally be that– a home.”
Zoeglossia, founded in 2019, provides inclusive spaces for poets with disabilities through a fellowship program that provides access to an annual retreat where fellows have the opportunity to learn and develop by studying with noted writers who also have disabilities. Zoeglossia also provides year-round professional development and through Poem of the Week, soon to be renamed A Liminal Space, a poetry series curated by diverse disabled poets, an ongoing platform for publishing and celebrating the works of poets with disabilities. Currently, Zoeglossia is preparing for its 4th annual retreat, to be held virtually in partnership with New Mexico State University (NMSU), which has been Zoeglossia’s primary institutional partner for the retreat since 2021. The 4-day event will feature workshops and classes by faculty members Kay Ulanday Barrett, Khairani Barokka, Jjjerome Ellis, Ire’ne Lara Silva, and Urayoan Noel, with a keynote by L. Lamar Wilson.
Grants were recommended by an independent panel consisting of Kazim Ali, M.L. Smoker, and Crystal Wilkinson. Final award decisions were approved by a committee of the Academy of American Poets Board of Directors.
“Literary organizations embolden American culture in profound and inspiring ways across small towns and big cities alike, and yet they remain one of the most under-funded areas in the nonprofit sector. With thanks to the Hawthornden Foundation, we are able to strengthen literary organizations that do so much for poets, writers, and readers everywhere,” said Tess O’Dwyer, Board Chair of the Academy of American Poets.
Founded in 1934, the Academy of American Poets is the nation’s leading champion of poets and poetry with supporters in all fifty states and beyond. The organization annually awards $1.3+ million to more than two hundred poets at various stages of their careers through its prize and fellowship programs. The organization also produces Poets.org, the world’s largest publicly funded website for poets and poetry; established and organizes National Poetry Month each April; publishes the popular Poem-a-Day series and American Poets magazine; provides free resources to K–12 educators, including the award-winning weekly Teach This Poem series.
The complete grant announcement by the Academy of American Poets can be read on their website.
For more information email Zoeglossia Executive Director Sheila Black at sheila@zoeglossia.org