here’s an excerpt from an update on the Facebook Page created to help gather support of Sandra Simonds’ call for the Poetry Foundation to do more to help poets in need:

“This afternoon Jenny Gropp Hess participated in a conference call with Elizabeth Burke-Dain, the Poetry Foundation’s Media and Marketing Director, and Ydalmi Noriega, the Special Assistant to President Robert Polito. Burke-Dain and Noriega communicated that the letter and petition introduced a real need for the Foundation to change and refine some of its processes, such as figuring out how to better support programs like Poets in Need and how to communicate the availability of already existing emergency funds. They also said that the Foundation has, in response to the letter and petition, been in touch with Poets in Need and is currently having productive conversations with people there.

Burke-Dain and Noriega also emphasized that Polito has taken the letter and petition seriously, and that in the future the public can expect to see more direct and regular communication from him about what the Foundation is doing for the poetry community. They’ve also invited people to reach out to them regarding other issues, and have extended an open line of communication to us regarding our cause.”

An encouraging response that hopefully will lead to some real and positive changes.