This year, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded Creative Writing Fellowships in poetry. We're proud to say that four BOA authors were included among the 2011 recipients; Richard Foerster, Aracelis Girmay, Christopher Kennedy, and Celcilia Woloch. The National Endowment for the Arts was established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. To date, the NEA has awarded more than $4 billion to support artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities. The NEA extends its work through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector. To read some work by our authors, or the 38 other recipients, click here (and prepare to have your mind blown).