EFTA02545211.pdf

From: Lisa New < Sent: Sunday, December 17, 2017 7:19 PM To: Jeffrey Epstein Subject: thank you to friends of Poetry in America Dear J=ffrey: (and please see personal =.S. under my signature!) I am writing now, as I hav= for the last several years, to update you on the work that Poetry in Amer=ca and Verse Video Education have done in the last year. Below, I detail t=e accomplishments of 2017 and, below that, some projects I hope to complet= in 2018. But first: my deepest thanks to you who have contributed financi=lly, intellectually, creatively, and in so many other ways to Poetry in Am=rica's work. =div>Some of you receiving this letter have generously supported Verse Vide= Education, the independent non-profit production company (a 501c3) I foun=ed in 2015. Verse Video Education now partners with WGBH television as wel= as with Harvard University (and others) to make the highest quality educa=ional media for broad audiences. Whether you supported me by sharing your =wn interpretive talents on camera or by helping me to land elusive talent=whether you provided me funding, or equipment, or business wisdom, or orga=izational advice, or a space in which to film, or just plain interest i= the work-- I am immensely grateful. Making media-- and especially televis=on-- is complex, and expensive, and I could not have navigated the road fr=m professor to professor/producer/director without you. =thers of you have supported my humanities work at Harvard, and, in particu=ar, Harvard's efforts to provide distance education of all kinds. Now =along with partners at the Bok Center, HarvardX, the Graduate School of Ed=cation, and the Extension School), I produce educational content for a wid= global community of learners. Increasingly, Poetry in America not only di=tributes state-of-the-art humanities content within and beyond Harvard =80 s gates, but we also train, mentor, and support a growing number of H=rvard undergraduates and graduate students with interests in education, me=ia, and the public humanities. These students now comprise a vibrant commu=ity of young Harvard humanists gaining experience in online teaching, curr=culum design, educational policy, international education, video productio=, video editing, and more. By supporting Poetry in America, you a=so support forward-looking humanities education at Harvard. (Update: those=of you who are alumni of Harvard College are now eligible to receive class=credit for your donations to Poetry in America projects.) It's thrilling for me to report that our two largest efforts of the l=st few years are both coming to fruition. Poe=ry in America's 13-episode television series, along with its paral=el PBS LearningMedia Collection for educators, will air on PBS stations na=ionwide beginning in April 2018. Click here <https://vimeo.com/2469015=4> for a sneak peek at our 90-second=series trailer (password: Poetry90). Featuring such guest interpreters as =hose in the trailer-- and dozens of others-- each half-hour episode of the=series offers a deep dive into one important American poem. Discussions on=a second season have begun! Meanwhile, our Harvard partners at =he Extension School and the Graduate School of Education have agreed, for = limited time, to make the full suite of Poetry in America online courses =ccessible to learners all over the world, offering a steep reduction in co=rse fees. Students and teachers worldwide can now take any Poetry in Ameri=a course-- at any credit level-- for $200. (Take a look at our 2018 offerings here. <http://www.poetryin=merica.org/wp- EFTA_R1_01698300 EFTA02545211 content/uploads/2017/11/2-Spring-and-Fall-2018-PiA-Course-Pu=licity.pdf> )=Those of you who support individual schools or school networks: please not= that through 2018 groups of five teachers or students can take any Poetry=in America course for $1000 and receive graduate, undergraduate, or profes=ional development credit-- and, that group's facilitator can recei=e free tuition. Please feel free to distribute our offerings to educators =hose work you support anywhere in the world. Harvard =80 s highly unusual decision to slash tuition for the next year follows =he great success of Poetry in America's first course for educators=- Poetry in America for Teachers: The City from Whitman to Hip Hop. In rec=gnition of this course, David Coleman (president of the College Board) has=offered support to allow us to continue developing and providing access to=the highest quality educational and professional development humanities co=tent. In 2018, as I lay out below, we seek to expand the scope of our offe=ings, and to work with our many partners to broaden access to all learners= Thank you for your support for th=s work, and warmest best to you all in this holiday season. Sincerely, Lisa P.S. and thank you so much, Jeff=ey, for your amazing support , without which much of what I've managed=in the last few years would never have happened. My next course for =eachers, as you'll notice, has shifted from art to environment--not =ecause of any less passion on my part for arts content but really be=ause of greater enthusiasm among others for poetry/science for the classro=m. I would like to hear more from you about what you think kids/schools ne=d in this area. Larry tells me you have views; as I move out of my central=areas, I will need advice xxoolisa Poetry in America is now rai=ing funds to complete an exciting group of new projects. Those in the pipe=ine include: The Poetry of Earth, Sea and Sky With co=mitments now in from the Poetry Foundation, Harvard's Center for t=e Environment, NextGen Climate, Nautilus Magazine, and more, Poetry in Ame=ica is now embarking on the development of our second course specifically =or teachers: Poetry in America for Teachers: The Poetry of Earth, Sea and =ky. This course will offer teachers innovative ways to blend humanities an= science instruction and will provide them with classroom-ready materials.=Via our partnership with the Bok Center, Harvard College and GSAS students=will have the opportunity to build content, and skills, as they craft medi=, curriculum, and digital architecture for this second Poetry in America c=urse for teachers. Medicine and Media In partnership =ith Harvard-trained physician and ER creator Neal Baer, poet-physician Raf=el Campo, the Arts and Literature Initiative of Harvard Medical School, an= the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning at Harvard, Poetry in Amer=ca will develop media around humane communication for medical practitioner= and students. Our initial collection of content will focus on breast canc=r health and LGBTQ health, and this project will provide the opportunity f=r students at Harvard Medical School and in the college to explore deeper =egisters of communication on vital matters of health. Content developed fo= this project has the potential to become a television episode. 2 EFTA_R1_01698301 EFTA02545212 Poetry in America for Chinese Learners With seed funding from a =arvard graduate, Poetry in America is now developing content in a variety =f formats (for- credit courses as well as short-form video assets to stream=on internet platforms) for Chinese learners. Content will aim to offer new=modes of humanities instruction to a broad global audience. We hope to exp=nd our offerings beyond poetry to include other content in the humanities,=including material on Shakespeare and World Literature. Poet=y in America: the Television Series (Season 2) Plans for Season 2 a=e developing, and we hope to embark on a second season as soon as funds al=ow. On-camera interpreters already filmed or ready to film with us include=Katie Couric, Yang Lan, Billy Collins, Julie Taymor, Yusef Komunyakaa, Eve=Ensler, Ray Dalio, Kay Redfield Jamison, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Al Gore, J=rie Graham, Maurice Clarett, Jason Collins, Neal Baer, Danielle Ofri, Tom =teyer, and many others. E -- Elisa New Powell M. Cabot Professor of American Literatu=e Harvard University 3 EFTA_R1_01698302 EFTA02545213