Yale’s Claudia Rankine to open poetry fest
Poet Claudia Rankine, the MacArthur Foundation “genius grant” winner who teaches poetry at Yale, will launch the 27th annual Sunken Garden Poetry Festival at Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington, which opens June 19 and features five evenings of readings, ending on Aug. 11.
Rankine, of New Haven, has published five collections of poetry, including the “Citizen: An American Lyric,” which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry and is the only poetry book to be a New York Times best-seller in the nonfiction category. She also has written two plays and numerous video collaborations and has edited several literary anthologies.
In addition to her “genius grant,” Rankine has received the Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry, Poets & Writers’ Jackson Poetry Prize and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Lannan Foundation, United States Artists and the National Endowment of the Arts. She is the co-founder of the Racial Imaginary Institute, which works to change percep- tions of racial differences.
On June 19, Rankine will be preceded by poet Emily Skillings and the Jeff Barnhart duo will perform.
The other headliners in the festival are:
“Lighthead” author Terrance Hayes on July 10. That evening will feature music by Jeff Burnham and the Insiders.
“A Celebration of Indian Poetry and Culture” with Aimee Nezhukumatathil and Rajiv Mohabir on July 21, with Indian music.
“Poetry of Our World” with Mai Der Vang and Chris Abani on July 31, with world music by Criollo Classic Trio.
“Young Poets Day” with Elizabeth Acevedo on Aug. 11, with Fresh Voices Student Poetry Contest winners and music by Merritt Gibson.
Poetry writing workshops also will be held in connection with the festival. Admission to each evening is $15 in advance, $20 at the gate, free for ages 17 and younger. The Hill-Stead Museum is at 35 Mountain Road in Farmington. hill stead.org. $171,750 to 12 projects statewide. The organizations and awards are the following. For details, visit cthumanities.org.
Durham Public Library, $6,750 for a marketing assessment and brand strategy project.
Fairfield Historical Society, $9,980 for strategic planning for the Fairfield Museum.
Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington, $20,000 for the 2019 Sunken Garden Poetry Festival.
Bill Memorial Library in Groton, $5,891 for strategic planning.
Connecticut Historical Society in Hartford, $9,999 for the Cultural Heritage Archive Project.
Community Foundation of Middlesex County, $17,500 for a documentary about Ann Petry and the James family.
Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History in New Haven, $28,641 for the exhibit “Ancient Mesopotamia Speaks: Highlights from the Yale Babylonian Collection.”
Artspace in New Haven, $15,000 for the exhibit “Learning from the Black Panther Trials, 50 Years Later.”
The International Festivals of Arts & Ideas in New Haven, $9,999 for a community impact assessment.
Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, $30,000 for “The Great Americans: Portraits by Jac Lahav.”
Keeler Tavern Preservation Society in Ridgefield, $9,990 for visitor research and analysis.
Historical Society, $8,000 for the Coley Homestead Interpretative and Wayfinding Program.
Arts-hero nominations
The 2019 Connecticut Arts Hero Awards will be handed out on May 1 at a ceremony at 6 p.m. at Infinity Music Hall in Hartford. Members of the general public are invited to nominate members of the state’s arts community for the award. The deadline is March 28.
The ceremony will precede Connecticut Arts Day, a celebration of the state’s cultural communities, which will be May 2 in
New Haven. The arts day includes performances, panel discussions, workshops and the presentation of Connecticut Office of the Arts’ Lifetime Achievement Award. To nominate someone for the Arts Hero Award, visit surveymon key.com/r/2019CTArts Hero.