Write yourself into history.
Artist’s Note
“In my work, I’ve always been concerned with the intersections between personal and public history, our national collective memory with its omissions and erasures—willed forgetting, a kind of cultural amnesia—and the enduring need for justice for all. The pursuit of justice involves telling a fuller version of our shared history, reckoning with the past and its impact on our contemporary moment.”
About the Artist
Natasha Trethewey, a member of the Academy and Co-chair of the Commission on the Arts, is a poet, author, and Board of Trustees Professor of English at Northwestern University. She is a Pulitzer Prize-winner who served two terms as the 19th Poet Laureate of the United States (2012-2014), while also serving as the Poet Laureate of the State of Mississippi (2012-2016).
Additional Notes
“Quotidian” by Natasha Trethewey, from “The 1619 Project” published in The New York Times Magazine (Joint copyright © 2019 by The New York Times Company and Natasha Trethewey) and published in the book “The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story” (Copyright © 2021 by The New York Times Company). Used with the permission of The New York Times Company.
Commission on the Arts
The Commission - drawing on the expertise of its members who are artists, scholars, activists, and leaders, as well as the input of people across the country who participated in listening sessions - dedicated itself to recognizing and supporting the essential role of the arts and artists in American life.