New York, NY, February 24, 2015 – The American Academy of Arts and Letters will hold its annual induction and award ceremony in mid-May. Secretary of the Academy, Calvin Trillin will induct five new members into the 250-person organization: Sherman Alexie, Roger Angell, Dave Eggers, Sharon Olds, and Art Spiegelman. President Yehudi Wyner will induct honorary members Margaret Atwood, Roberto Calasso, Robert Levin, R. Murray Schafer, and Kazuyo Sejima.Robert A. Caro will deliver the Blashfield Foundation Address, titled “The Lure of History.” An exhibition of art,architecture, books, and manuscripts by new members and recipients of awards will be on view in the Academy’s galleries from May 20 to June 14.
Newly Elected Members of the Academy
Literature
SHERMAN ALEXIE
ROGER ANGELL
DAVE EGGERS
SHARON OLDS
ART SPIEGELMAN
American Honorary Member
ROBERT LEVIN
Foreign Honorary Members
MARGARET ATWOOD
ROBERTO CALASSO
MURRAY SCHAFER
KAZUYO SEJIMA
THE ACADEMY
The American Academy of Arts and Letters was established in 1898 to “foster, assist, and sustain an interest in literature, music, and the fine arts,” and is chartered by Congress. Founding members include William Merritt Chase, Kenyon Cox, Daniel Chester French, Childe Hassam, Henry James, Theodore Roosevelt, Elihu Vedder, and Woodrow Wilson. Each year, the Academy gives approximately one million dollars in awards to artists, architects, writers, and composers. It presents exhibitions of art, architecture, and manuscripts, and subsidizes readings and performances of new musicals. The 117-year-old organization is located in three landmark buildings, designed by McKim, Mead & White, Cass Gilbert, and Charles Pratt Huntington, on Audubon Terrace at 155 Street and Broadway.