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HARVARD UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
Barker Center - 12 Quincy Street - Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
ELISA NEW
Powell M. Cabot Professor of American Literature
November 25, 2018
Dear Ms. Williams:
Tel:
Fax:
I am writing now to invite you to be a featured guest of Poetry in America
(poetryinamerica.org). Poetry in America's first season's guests included Bill Clinton,
Joe Biden, Cynthia Nixon, Shaquille O'Neal, Yo Yo Ma, Samantha Power, Herbie
Hancock, John McCain, Nas, Angela Duckworth, Bono, Regina Spektor, Frank Gehry,
Stuart Weitzman, E.O. Wilson, and many others. Seasons Two and Three will feature just
as distinguished a line up. The series airs on public television stations everywhere,
streams via Amazon Prime and other streaming services, and it is now also airing on a
variety of domestic and international airlines.
The poem we'd read and interpret together is by Pulitzer Prize winner Sharon Olds, and
it's called "The Language of the Brag." It's a gutsy poem that compares feats of (male)
athletic prowess—and feats of poetic prowess—to childbirth. You are the ideal reader for
this poem. We would use what we filmed together in an upcoming season of Poetry in
America. We would also use the content in an online course for medical professionals I
am creating in partnership with Harvard Medical School. Everything we create would be
non-commercial and educational.
Thank you for considering this request. I would be very honored to work with you.
Sincerely,
Elisa New
Director and Host of Poetry in America
Powell M. Cabot Professor, Harvard
HOUSE OVERSIGHT 029517