From Poets & Writers, Inc.

Two Plus Two Equals Four

Freedom of expression is a bedrock principle for Poets & Writers. Given our mission of service to writers and the literary community, nothing is more fundamental.  

Over the course of our fifty-five-year history, we have often joined with others to oppose book bans and keep federal support for the arts free of partisan politics. In 1989, North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms called for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to be defunded because it supported work he deemed “obscene.” It was no coincidence that during the AIDS crisis many of the artists targeted were gay. In response, Poets & Writers joined forces with others to fight back. (LitNet, the national coalition of literary organizations, grew out of these efforts.) Ultimately, through our work and that of many others, federal funding for the arts was protected.

Now history repeats itself. Earlier this year the NEA announced new guidelines that require grantees to certify that they are in compliance with two executive orders, one falsely suggesting that promoting racial equity is illegal and another barring any acknowledgment of gender diversity. Both are vaguely worded and may be unconstitutional. What’s more, the guidelines require a pledge that grantees will comply with all future executive orders, whatever they may be.

Poets & Writers has enjoyed funding from the NEA for decades. Grants have supported the publication of Poets & Writers Magazine and helped to launch our website, pw.org, in 1996, and more recently Poets & Writers Groups. Funding for the literary arts is not easy to come by, but we will not compromise our mission or the dignity of any writer just to secure a grant.

We are firmly committed to our mission, and that means opposing censorship in all its forms. Trump’s executive orders attempt to prohibit discussion of gender diversity under the guise of protecting women and shut down efforts to advance racial equity by claiming they are racist. This is nothing more than doublespeak. Requiring NEA grantees to acquiesce to this mendacity is an attempt to limit freedom of expression. Such acts are part of a larger attack on nonprofits that threatens the arts and civil society more broadly—and puts vulnerable members of our community at risk. Along with George Orwell, we know “freedom is the right to say that two plus two equals four,” and we will continue to tell the truth about what we see happening.

Standing by our mission also means we will continue to serve writers of all identities, backgrounds, and traditions. That includes trans and other nonbinary writers. It includes immigrant writers, regardless of their status. It includes writers of every faith and no faith. It includes writers who are straight, gay, and bi. Black, Asian, Latinx, and Indigenous writers. Disabled writers and incarcerated writers. It includes writers whose work interrogates gender, racism, patriarchy, and misogyny and looks unflinchingly at the darkest aspects of our country’s history.

From its beginnings in 1970, Poets & Writers has served writers from all backgrounds. But in 2020, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer, we confronted the fact that we had not done enough to address racism and its impact on Black writers in particular. We made a commitment at that time to becoming an antiracist organization, and we’ve taken concrete steps toward that ideal. Our work around diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging is ongoing. We recognize that racism continues to limit the success and visibility of writers of color, and we will continue to do our part to lower those barriers.

As of this writing, the executive orders referenced in the new NEA requirements are being challenged in the courts. We hope that by July, when we typically apply for NEA funding, we will be able to do so without jeopardizing our integrity. If not, we will forgo the funding. Either way, you can count on Poets & Writers to continue to advance our mission, to uphold our values, to serve all literary writers, and to defend freedom of expression.

As Salman Rushdie succinctly said: “Free speech is the whole thing, the whole ball game.”

Melissa Ford Gradel, Executive Director
Madeline McIntosh, President, Board of Directors