Articles

Derricotte elected to Poets’ Board

Category: Entertainment Published on Friday, 06 April 2012 09:54 Written by Courier Newsroom

Cave Canem Foundation, North America’s premier home for Black poetry, congratulates co-founder Toi Derricotte on her 2012 election to the Academy of American Poets’ Board of Chancellors.

Along with poets Jane Hirshfield and Arthur Sze, also inducted this year, Derricotte joins an illustrious Board of 15 whose members advocate for the programmatic work of the Academy, elect the recipients of some of the Academy’s awards, and serve as ambassadors of poetry to the world at large.

New Chancellors are elected by the current Board of Chancellors and serve a term of six years.

Founded in 1996 by Derricotte and Cornelius Eady to remedy the under-representation and isolation of African-American poets in MFA programs and writing workshops, Cave Canem is a home for the many voices of Black  poetry and is committed to cultivating the artistic and professional growth of African-American poets.