The Wittliff is proud to share the news that Naomi Shihab Nye has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Texas Institute of Letters. This is the highest honor given by the TIL, which was established in 1936 to recognize and celebrate the state’s literary artists. The award will be presented to Nye at the TIL’s annual banquet, set for April 27 in McAllen.
An internationally acclaimed poet, Nye’s major archive is at The Wittliff. She joins other authors associated with The Wittliff who have also received this honor, including Sandra Cisneros, Cormac McCarthy, Larry McMurtry, and others.
In announcing the award, TIL President Carmen Tafolla called Nye “a significant world voice, utilizing poetry to tie tightly the bonds of humanity.” Wittliff Collections Director Dr. David Coleman hails Nye as “a literary treasure,” adding, “It is such an honor for us to safeguard and celebrate her literary legacy at The Wittliff.”
The bulk of Nye’s literary papers came to The Wittliff in 2017. The materials are currently being processed by The Wittliff’s archives staff and will be available for research and exhibition upon completion.
Nye’s honors include awards from the International Poetry Forum, the Charity Randall Prize, four Pushcart Prizes, and a National Book Award finalist. She has been a Lannan Fellow, a Guggenheim Fellow, and a Library of Congress Witter Bynner Fellow. She was appointed a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets in 2010.
Her most recent books are Voices in the Air: Poems for Listeners (Greenwillow Books, HarperCollins) and Tiny Journalist: Poems (BOA editions.) Nye is is currently Professor of Creative Writing at Texas State University.
Wittliff announcement of Naomi Shihab Nye acquisition.
The Texas Institute of Letters announcement.
More on Naomi Shihab Nye: https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/naomi-shihab-nye