USA Today reported the forthcoming resignation of National Endowment of the Arts chairman Dan Gioia early next year. Gioia had held his post since being appointed by George Bush in 2003. He replaced an earlier Bush appointee, composer Michael Hammond, who died of an illness early in his tenure. Gioia still would not have finished his four year term when he steps down, but he said that he would like to "to return to [his] private life as an artist. (Italie 2008)" The NEA chairman from Santa Rosa, California is a Stanford Univerity alumni and poet, publishing literature such as The Gods of Winter and Interrogations at Noon.
Gioia, according to former NEA chairman Frank Hodsoll, did a good job in promoting art to people who are not necessarily considered to be connoisseurs. This comment was related to projects under Gioia's tenure, most prominently the Big Read, Poetry Out Loud and "Operation Homecoming. The said program "a compilation of stories written by soldiers in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. (Italie 2008)"
NEA, in general, is not usually a newsmaker, but it is usually lambasted by conservatives as a wasteful agency that must be abolished. Despite this, Gioia said that he typically a Republican voter, although he considers himself to be an independent.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-09-12-endowment-arts-gioia_N.htm?csp=34
PHOTO SOURCE: www.wikipedia.com
No comments:
Post a Comment