Academy of American Poets

Natalie Diaz, Nikky Finney, and Tracy K. Smith Named Academy of American Poets Chancellors in History Making Election

The Academy of American Poets is pleased to announce that Natalie Diaz, Nikky Finney, and Tracy K. Smith have been elected to its Board of Chancellors, filling the seats vacated by Elizabeth Alexander, Linda Gregerson, and Alicia Ostriker, whose six-year terms of active service have concluded. The three poets will consult with the Academy on matters of artistic programming, serve as judges for the organization’s largest legacy prizes for poets, and act as ambassadors of poetry in the world at large.

Poems by Academy Chancellors 

Get to know the esteemed poets serving on the Board of Chancellors by reading their work on Poets.org: 

“The Morning After” by Ellen Bass
“Peony” by Marilyn Chin
“Purple” by Kwame Dawes
“They Don't Love You Like I Love You” by Natalie Diaz
“Heirloom” by Nikky Finney 
 “Elegy for the Disappeared” by Forrest Gander
“Perhaps the World Ends Here” by Joy Harjo 
“We Should Make a Documentary About Spades” by Terrance Hayes
“On a Day, In the World” by Brenda Hillman
“After the Movie” by Marie Howe
“Before Dawn” by David St. John
“Only as the Day Is Long” by Dorianne Laux
“Einstein’s Mother” by Tracy K. Smith
“Pilgrimage” by Natasha Trethewey
 “Ditty” by Kevin Young