New York State Council on the Arts Support for Artists Grant

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Emily Wallis Hughes Awarded a New York State Council on the Arts Support for Artists Grant

[Astoria, Queens, New York City / New York] –– Emily Wallis Hughes received a Support for Artists grant from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) to support her creative work. Sponsored by Belladonna* Collaborative, this award will fund my friend Now, Hughes’s second full-length book of poems. Through New York State’s continued investment in arts and culture, NYSCA has awarded $80.9 million in FY 2026 to arts and culture nonprofits across all 10 regions and a historic number of artists.

“New York’s arts and culture sector is a cornerstone of the state’s identity, and we’re making bold investments to ensure it remains strong,” Governor Hochul said. “These grants will lift up artists and organizations in every region, fueling local economies and expanding access to the arts. Congratulations to all the grantees – your talent and dedication help power New York’s future.”

New York State Council on the Arts Executive Director Erika Mallin said, “During these challenging times, the New York State Council on the Arts has been a stalwart and innovative funder. These grants will serve artists and organizations in every region and county, fueling our economy and serving our communities. We know this support isn’t just an investment in the arts; it’s an investment in New York’s future. Congratulations to all our FY2026 grantees and thank you for your perseverance, your creativity, and your tireless service to New York State.”

New York State Council on the Arts Chair Patrick Willingham said, “With the unwavering support of Governor Hochul and our Legislature, the Council is proud to congratulate this year’s grantees, whose collective efforts strengthen and benefit us all. I also want to recognize the work of NYSCA’s panelists, staff, and the entire Council, whose dedication has ensured that this critical support will reach every corner of New York State.”

About the New York State Council on the Arts

The mission of the New York State Council on the Arts is to foster and advance the full breadth of New York State’s arts, culture, and creativity for all. To support the ongoing recovery of the arts across New York State, the Council on the Arts will award over $161 million in FY 2026, serving organizations and artists across all 10 state regions. The Council on the Arts further advances New York’s creative culture by convening leaders in the field and providing organizational and professional development opportunities and informational resources. Created by Governor Nelson Rockefeller in 1960 and continued with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, the Council is an agency that is part of the Executive Branch. For more information on NYSCA, please visit arts.ny.gov, and follow NYSCA’s Facebook page, on X @NYSCArts and Instagram @NYSCouncilontheArts.

Raising Funds for Fence in 2022

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In their brand new jobs as Editorial Directors of Fence Magazine, Inc., Emily Wallis Hughes and Jason Zuzga are banding together to fundraise for this 501(c)3 nonprofit publisher of nonconforming poetry and prose.

Fence, turning 24 this year, needs you, because without your contribution we may not be able to afford the printing and shipping costs involved in producing the next issues. Fence is fiercely independent, without any institutional affiliations. We must raise *at least* $50,000 over 2022 to be able to continue to exist. Since its founding in a cold New York apartment by Rebecca Wolff and collaborators in 1998, Fence has brought a wide array of readers and writers together. We aim to fairly compensate our editors and many writers for their literary labor. Please help us out right here on Facebook through the fundraiser we set up on the site.

We are thankful to the generous readers and friends of Fence who have already been able to donate to this urgent effort!

Please help us spread the word, invite a friend to become a Fence reader, and check out our membership model and 2022 goals here: https://www.fenceportal.org/support/

FENCE PUBLISHES:

Fence, a biannual literary magazine, which won the 2018 Whiting Foundation Literary Magazine Award— https://www.fenceportal.org/ (If you aren’t familiar with Fence, come check us out, and maybe you will want to become a subscriber, even a member. We plan to publish and distribute print Issue 40 in June and Issue 41 in December.)

Fence Sounds, free to all— https://www.fenceportal.org/podcast/

Fence’s many free offerings online— https://fencedigital.com, https://fencedigital.com/fence-digital/elecment/https://fenceportal.org/steaminghttp://fencedigital.com/fence-digital/constant-critic/

And books: poetry collections by Rodrigo Toscano and Harmony Holiday, along with the winner of the 2022 Ottoline Prize. We will maintain all of the Fence backlist titles in print: books by Jena Osman, Edgar Garcia, Aaron Kunin, Douglas Kearney, Arianna Reines, Chelsey Minnis and on and on and on. https://www.fenceportal.org/bookstore

Your contribution will make an impact on poets and writers and readers of unconventional poetry, fiction, and other writings, and work in translations, one new section to begin with issue 40. Whether you donate $5 or $500, every little bit helps. Thank you so much for your concrete and intrepid generosity and support. We are profoundly grateful.

Facebook pays all the processing fees for you, so 100% of your donation goes directly to Fence, and your contribution is tax-deductible.

The Mission: Fence is committed to publishing from the outside and the inside of established communities of writing, seeking always to interrogate, collaborate with, and bedevil all the systems that bring new writing to light.As a non-profit, Fence is mandated to make decisions outside of the requirements of market force or capital concern, and only in keeping with its mission: to maintain a dedicated venue for writing and art that bears the clear variant mark of the individual’s response to their context; and to make that venue accessible to as many, and as widely, as possible so that this work can reach others, that they may be fully aware of how much is possible in writing and art; such that Fence publishes almost entirely from its unsolicited submissions; and is committed to publishing the literature and art of queer writers and writers of color.

You might also want to consider becoming a contributing member at one of the levels at the following link. As a member, you’ll receive a print subscription, the Fence 2022 tote, and other eclectic delights. More info here: https://www.fenceportal.org/support/ 

5 poems from The Pond I Found for Us in Blazing Stadium

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Many thanks to the editors of Blazing Stadium for publishing five poems from the manuscript of my second book, The Pond I Found for Us. You can read the poems in Issue #17.

Issue #17 of Blazing Stadium also includes poems by Anthony Madrid, Kyle Schlesinger, Lila Dunlap, Nolan Bibb, Tamas Panitz, Austin Nieli, and Richard Stull.

And Blazing Stadium also publishes pamphlets!

Teaching at Brooklyn Poets this Autumn

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image of forest regrowth after a major wildfire, originally published in JSTOR Daily

On Saturday afternoons from September 25th through November 6th, I’ll be teaching a Contemporary Practice poetry workshop with Brooklyn Poets.

Here’s the fun trouble we will be getting into. It’s called “Self, Nature, City”:

“All poetry is collaboration,” writes Matthew Rohrer; Allen Grossman writes, “The person who speaks in lyric is always alone.” Poems are simultaneously social and solitary, external and internal. This is especially visible when poets engage directly with their surroundings, whether natural, urban, or both. In this seven-week workshop, we’ll wander, contemplate and imagine—while together and alone—in public parks, forests, deserts, mountains, oceans, wetlands, city streets, aquariums, suburban nature preserves, lands under restoration, regions burned by wildfires, and more, through live online cams and in person via 3–4 outdoor sessions in Prospect Park. We’ll read poets who engage with nature and city-based environments through their lyric ‘I’: Joanne Kyger, Du Fu, Joy Harjo, Larry Eigner, Evie Shockley, Frank O’Hara, Dg Nanouk Okpik, Patricia Killelea, Geoffrey Nutter and more. Along the way, we’ll question the boundaries of nature and city and consider what it means to write in collaboration with nature as non-human species populations decline in this climate emergency. At the same time, we’ll honor the persistent motivation of the poet to speak into and out of everything, no matter what the time period or current conditions may be. Class sessions will meet synchronously via Zoom every Saturday, save for in-person sessions in Prospect Park for local students (remote students can Zoom in for these sessions). Assignments, poems and critiques will be shared via Wet Ink. [Note: as this workshop intends to meet partially in person, all local participants must show proof of vaccination before the first session.]

You can read a bit more about it here, and even register to join us, if this calls to you.

Two poems in Prelude

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Thanks to the Prelude editors for re-publishing two poems in my “Day” series of poems in Sugar Factory (Spuyten Duyvil, 2019). Read them here.

The editors were planning this to be in print, but they decided to publish the issue online due to pandemic difficulties and hardships.

You’ll find additional poems by Sandra Simonds, Andrew J. Smyth, Patricia Hartland, Christopher Spaide, Maja Lukic, Madison McCartha, Ellen Boyette, Adam J. Gellings, Alice Hall, Jon Ruseski, Michael Larson, Vanessa Saunders, Jakob Maier, Cortney Lamar Charleston, Rachel Abramowitz, Cal Freeman, Aileen Bassis, Jeremiah Moriarty, Jessica Yuan, Michael Larson, Maxine Berclaz, James Moore, Kelly Hoffer, F. Daniel Rzicznek, Lea Graham, Michael Juliani, Elise Houcek, and Nicolas Visconti.

If you read the Winter 2021 issue, please consider picking up one of the Prelude books! Your support of independent literature and publishing really will go a long way.