Sponsor Grants Available for Louisiana’s State Poet Laureate Readings

The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities announces the availability of grants to sponsor Peter Cooley, Louisiana’s Poet Laureate for readings and discussions in libraries and cultural institutions throughout the state.

Peter Cooley is Professor of English and Director of the Creative Writing program at Tulane University. He is the author of ten full-length collections, eight through Carnegie Mellon University Press, most recently in 2014, and three chapbooks. His individual poems have appeared in over seven hundred magazines, including The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Poetry, and in more than one hundred anthologies. A little more than a year ago, The New Yorker editors featured print and recorded versions of Cooley’s poetry. His writing has been supported and honored through numerous grants, prizes and fellowships, including an ATLA grant from the state of Louisiana in 2011-12. A longtime and active member of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, he serves the community through faith-based as well as secular service.

The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities (LEH) will award up to four (4) Outreach Grants in 2016 to non-profit organizations for a maximum of $1,500 each. (e.g. libraries, adult literacy groups) wishing to have Dr. Cooley for poetry readings and discussions or presentations on topics such as:

•   Contemporary American poetry
•   Contemporary use of traditional forms
•   Teaching poetry writing to children in the classroom
•   Teaching poetry writing to adults
•   The revision process
•    Coaching poets in the reading of their own poems
•    Forming a productive poetry workshop
•    Women’s voice in poetry
•    Collaboration with other art form

For more on how to apply, deadlines, and contact information, click here.