Author of “Postcolonial Love Poem” and “When My Brother Was an Aztec,” Natalie Diaz is Mellon’s 2022-2023 Fellow in Residence.

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A day in the life of a Mellon fellow in residence, as shared by Natalie Diaz, a Pulitzer Prize–winning writer and educator. 

The Words and Wisdom of Natalie Diaz

That’s what Freedom Reads is: it’s creating another norm that exists in the system that is woefully lacking norms that lead to possibility, and lead to hope.

In his works “A Question of Freedom” and “Felon,” Reginald Dwayne Betts explores the state of incarceration in America.

A Black author and lawyer stands facing the camera, and wearing a black hat.

Felony and Freedom with Reginald Dwayne Betts

“Democracy” by Langston Hughes

Celebrating National Poetry Month 

She used to say that’s why her poems were so short, because she had six children and no closed doors.

It has been interesting to see how many young people know her work now.

“won’t you celebrate with me”

Lucille Clifton and her six children (left to right): Gillian, Fredrica, Lucille, Alexia, Sidney, Channing, and Graham. Photo: Courtesy of Sidney Clifton

Six children sit with their mother on a porch

A Legendary Poet’s Home Becomes a Sanctuary for Young Artists

[To the class of 2022] I would say: ‘What are you going to do? What is your own personal call to action?’

Farah Jasmine Griffin, a 2022 Mellon Fellow in Residence. Photo: Jemal Countess/Getty Images

Farah Jasmine Griffin

An Acclaimed Scholar Reflects on Black Life and Literature

How does poetry resonate in the current moment?

Artist illustration of Elizabeth Alexander and Joy Harjo

Originally livestreamed on March 21, 2022, this event included Mellon Foundation President Elizabeth Alexander and poet Joy Harjo.

Reading Poetry, Engaging America

“America is for Dreamers,” an exhibit featuring the work of artist Patrick Martinez on display at the Vincent Price Art Museum in Monterey Park, CA in 2018. Photo: Monica Orozco

Five colorful neon signs hang on the wall with messages that include, "Freedom cannot wait," "Brown owned," and "America is for Dreamers."

Power of the Word

Artists as Catalysts

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Beyond Incarceration

A side profile of a Black poet who is wearing glasses and a hat with a feather hat pin.

Civic Engagement

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Evolving Higher Education

A vertical image of an Indigenous person who is sitting on a chair in front of a backdrop.

Expanding Public Knowledge

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Monuments and Memory

A large statue of a confederate general is covered in markings and graffiti. 

Multivocality

Five people stand together in a group photo. They are laughing and smiling.

Public Places‚ Public Stories

A group of Indigenous Maskoke people stand and sit in the wooden frame of a structure in a woods

Puerto Rico and Its Diaspora

In a vertical image, a black leather vest is adorned with colorful pins across the front of it. Embroidery on the vest reads: "Felícitas "La Prieta" Méndez" 

University Everywhere

Two scholars dressed in all black face the camera.

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History

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