From Our Staff | December 03, 2014

By Michael Nye

Here’s some terrific news from the arts world. National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu announced yesterday that the Missouri Review is one of 919 nonprofit organizations nationwide to receive an NEA Art Works grant. Hooray!

NEA Chairman Jane Chu said, “I’m pleased to be able to share the news of our support through Art Works including the award to the Missouri Review. The arts foster value, connection, creativity and innovation for the American people and these recommended grants demonstrate those attributes and affirm that the arts are part of our everyday lives.”

We are very grateful to once again receive funding from the NEA. Their support helps us to print and distribute our magazine, and without them, we wouldn’t be able to be the type of quality literary journal you expect. Organizations like the NEA make a tremendous difference, not just for us, but all the other individuals and arts organizations they support.

Art Works grants support the creation of art, public engagement with art, lifelong learning in the arts, and enhancement of the livability of communities through the arts. The NEA received 1,474 eligible applications under the Art Works category, requesting more than $75 million in funding. Of those applications, 919 are recommended for grants for a total of $26.6 million.

If you’d like to see more of the Who and the What and the Where (basically a complete listing of projects recommended for Art Works grant support) visit the NEA website at arts.gov. Follow the conversation about this and other NEA‐funded projects on Twitter at #NEAFall2014.

And, a little bragging.

I’m personally proud and happy for our Poetry Editor, Chun Ye, who was one of the thirty exceptional writers awarded a NEA Creative Writing Fellowship in Poetry. These fellowships enable recipients to set aside time for writing, research, travel, and general career advancement. Chun has been with us for the past year and a half, reading and ruminating on the poetry submissions we receive, and looking for the very best work to publish in our pages and on our website. Her work has been exemplary, and the poets she has brought to your attention have been outstanding. I’m over the moon for my friend, who justly deserves this great honor. Huzzah!

We’re also thrilled that several poets that have appeared in our pages and on our website also received fellowships. These include Kerry James Evans, Sean Hill, Ellen Bass, and Shara Lessley. Big hearty Congrats! to these poets, as well as all the recipients of these fellowships.

Follow Michael on Twitter: @mpnye