Cave Canem Fellow Receives Inaugural Residency
New York, NY (March 5, 2008) - Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF), in collaboration with Cave Canem Foundation, North America's premier home for Black poetry, has selected Cave Canem fellow John "Jay" Frazier to receive an inaugural residency at the historic Marcel Breuer House at Pocantico. This architectural landmark is located on the grounds of the former estate of the Rockefeller family in the Pocantico Historic Area of Tarrytown, New York. The 10-day Pocantico residency is a pilot project that supports artists in their creative process.
"As we continue to explore more opportunities for the public to experience Pocantico, we are pleased to have John Frazier join us for the inaugural Pocantico residency," said Charles Granquist, director, Pocantico Programs. "Although this is our first residency at the Pocantico Center, Pocantico has, for the last 14 years, provided a setting where nonprofit organizations and public-sector institutions can engage in discussions about critical issues."
Frazier's work has appeared in many journals, including The New Republic, The Antioch Review, The Massachusetts Review, Presence Africaine and The Gay and Lesbian Review Worldwide. He has been a MacDowell fellow and received other honors for his work. He was selected for the Pocantico residency by a lottery overseen by attorney Anne Marie Bowler of Gabay-Rafiy & Bowler LLP, New York City.
In 2007, the RBF awarded Cave Canem Foundation a two-year, $50,000 capacity-building grant under the foundation's Pivotal Place: New York City program.
In addition to piloting the Pocantico residency, the Pocantico Committee and staff are working to provide more opportunities for the public to experience and learn from the remarkable natural, architectural, artistic, and intellectual resources that the Pocantico setting provides.
For more information, contact:
Alison Meyers, executive director, Cave Canem Foundation, 212.941.5720 or alisonmeyers@ccpoets.org
Gail Fuller, communications officer, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, 212.812.4242 or gfuller@rbf.org
About Pocantico
In 1979, Neslon Rockefeller bequeathed 86 acres of the Rockefeller family estate to The National Trust for Historic Preservation for use as a museum and conference center. As part of its agreement with the Trust, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund assumed stewardship of the property and the responsibility of providing public access. The Fund oversees the maintenance, care, conservation and restoration of the estate's historic buildings, gardens and collections of decorative and fine art. The property includes the family house, Kykuit, built in 1909 and 1913; the Orangerie of 1908; the Coach Barn of 1902 and 1913; and the Marcel Breuer House at Pocantico, built in 1949.
Marcel Breuer House at Pocantico
Marcel Breuer (1902-1981) was one of the most influential architects and furniture designers of the 20th century. The Marcel Breuer House, commissioned by the Museum of Modern Art in 1948 as an exhibition building in the Museum Garden, was his vision of how the average American family could live in a well-designed, modern, expandable, affordable home. Called "a very human house, evoking a human response" by architectural critic Lewis Mumford, his design influenced modern residential architecture with its use of glass, wood and natural stone, along with its incorporation of distinct activity zones to define the motion and flow of both interior and exterior spaces. The house was moved to the Rockefeller estate in 1950 and presently is being restored as closely as possible to the original design.
Rockefeller Brothers Fund
Founded in 1940, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund encourages social change that contributes to a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world. The RBF's grantmaking is organized around four themes: Democratic Practice, Sustainable Development, Peace and Security, and Human Advancement and four pivotal places: New York City, South Africa, Western Balkans, and Southern China. On October 12, 2006, the RBF trustees approved a new cross-programmatic grantmaking initiative on energy.
Cave Canem Foundation
Founded in 1996 by poets Toi Derricotte and Cornelius Eady, Cave Canem Foundation's national programs include an annual writing retreat, a first book prize, a Legacy Conversation series, writing workshops, Publication and readings. Such renowned poets as Elizabeth Alexander, Lucille Clifton, Yusef Komunyakaa and Carl Phillips number among the organization's faculty and judges. Cave Canem fellows have over 150 books in print across several genres and have garnered numerous prestigious awards-Guggenheim, Lannan Literary, NEA and Stegner Fellowships; the Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets; and the Whiting Writers' Award, among others. The organization has published two anthologies, The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South (The University of Georgia Press, 2007) and Gathering Ground: A Reader Celebrating Cave Canem's First Decade (University of Michigan Press, 2006). For more information, go to www.cavecanempoets.org.