Poet and literary critic J.D. McClatchy, editor of The Yale Review, is one of seven Yale alumni elected this year to the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Letters. Yale alumni constitute the majority of the 11 new academy members. Several of these former Yale students also have served on the University's faculty. Election to the academy is considered among the nation's highest honors recognizing artistic merit. The new members were announced in February; a formal induction ceremony will take place in May. McClatchy has held his post as editor of The Yale Review since 1991. He was poetry editor of the publication 1981-91, and taught at Yale as assistant professor of English 1974-81. He also has taught at Columbia, Princeton and Rutgers universities. Another noted writer, Edmund White, has called McClatchy "one of the most accomplished poets of his generation." McClatchy's poetry includes "Scenes from Another Life," 1981; "Stars Principal," 1986; "The Art of Poetry," 1994; and "Ten Commandments," 1998. His nonfiction includes "Anne Sexton: The Artist and Her Critics," 1978; "Poets on Painters: Essays on the Art of Painting by Twentieth Century Poets," 1988; and "Twenty Questions: Posed by Poems," 1998. He edited "The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Poetry" in 1990 and "The Vintage Book of Contemporary World Poetry" in 1996. McClatchy also has served as a librettist, for "A Question of Taste" (music by William Schuman) in 1989, and "Mario and the Magician" (music by Francis Thorne) in 1994. Among the poet's honors are the O. Henry Award, which he received in 1972, and a 1991 American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1998. McClatchy received a Ph.D. from Yale in 1974. The six other Yale alumni who were inducted into the academy are: scholar and writer Henry Louis Gates Jr. '73 M.A., B.A.; composer Yehudi Wyner '50 B.A., '52 Mus.B., '53 Mus.M.; writer Tom Wolfe '57 Ph.D.; editor and critic Richard Poirier '51 M.A.; painter Rackstraw Downes '63 B.F.A., '64 M.F.A; and theater critic Robert Brustein '51 Dra. Gates, Wyner and Brustein are also former members of the Yale faculty. The American Academy of Arts and Letters was founded in 1898 to "foster, assist and sustain an interest in literature, music and the fine arts." New members are elected annually to fill vacancies in the academy's membership of 250 American artists, architects, writers and composers. Nominations are made by members by department (art, literature and music), and names of candidates receiving the highest number of votes are then placed on a ballot sent to the entire membership. T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S Dwight Hall appoints a new leader McClatchy among alumni elected to Academy of Arts and Letters British Art Center pays tribute to its founder with Stubbs exhibit Grant will support multifaceted research on human skeleton 'Please Be Seated': Yale Art Gallery show invites public to rest a spell Classic comedy by Noel Coward will top off the season at the Yale Rep New degree program to prepare oncology nurse practitioners Susan Cook returns to Yale to head Cambodian Genocide Program Two Yale College juniors receive prestigious Truman Scholarships Alumna Jackson Lee recalls days when 'We had to change the world' Staff member leads campaign to 'smart-wire' children in first years of life Poets Ashbery and Hollander to read from their works Drama School to present 'Life is a Dream' Merger creates Council of European Studies Visiting professor to discuss varying concepts of Europe Symposium to consider future of broadcast, cable and net technologies Longtime Yale Press editor-in-chief Edward Tripp dies at age 79 Forestry School to honor late librarian Campus Notes Bulletin Home|Visiting on Campus|Calendar of Events| Bulletin Board Classified Ads|Search Archives|Production Schedule|Bulletin Staff Public Affairs Home|News Releases|E-Mail Us|Yale Home Page

 J.D. McClatchy