American Academy of Arts and Letters expands, diversifies
(AP Photo)NEW YORK โ One of the country's oldest cultural instititutions, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, is undergoing some of its biggest changes in more than a century. AdHarjo, the first Native American to be appointed U.S. poet laureate, said she looked forward to having an influence on future academy choices. โThere are so many incredible Native visual artists,โ she told the AP, while also citing such authors as N. Scott Momaday and Leslie Marmon Silko. But the academy will still call itself an academy, while working to make itself more accessible to artists and to the general public. Besides choosing members, the academy also gives dozens of prizes and grants each year, totalling more than $1 million.
N. Scott Momaday remembers 1969 Pulitzer, promises memoir
In this Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019, photo, Kiowa writer N. Scott Momaday, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1969 for his groundbreaking novel "House Made of Dawn," sits in his Santa Fe, N.M., home between writing sessions. In a rare interview with The Associated Press, the 85-year-old Native American author says he's excited about a new PBS American Masters documentary about his life. (AP Photo/Russell Contreras)Kiowa writer N. Scott Momaday, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1969 for his groundbreaking novel House Made of Dawn, said hes not done writing and vows to finish his long-anticipated memoir. Scott Momaday: Words from a Bear on most PBS stations Monday. Palmer also interviewed actors including Jeff Bridges and James Earl Jones, who said Momadays work touched them.