For the Second Year in a Row, our Literary Ambassadors are Honored for their Genius

You may have heard that the MacArthur Foundation recently released the list of 24 poets, writers, historians, scientists and scholars they’re naming as MacArthur Fellows, colloquially known as the “MacArthur Genius Grants.” Whatever you call the honor, it is a huge gift to the recipients: the money they receive ($800,000 paid out in equal quarterly installments over 5 years) allows them the time and space to pursue their work and gives them the recognition they deserve.

We in Literary Initiatives are ecstatic that two of the Library of Congress’ former literary ambassadors, Juan Felipe Herrera and Jason Reynolds, are among the list of 24 geniuses announced for 2024—after current United States Poet Laureate Ada Limón was named to last year’s class of MacArthur fellows. Juan Felipe is a former U.S. Poet Laureate (2015-2017), and Jason is a former National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature (2020-2022). Congrats to them!

“I am in the ultimate garden of love and kindness,” Juan Felipe told us after being named a MacArthur Fellow. “Being a Laureate of the USA launched me into flowers of happiness.” The MacArthur Foundation praised Juan Felipe for the fact that “his work is united by deep empathy and joy for all groups in the act of artistic creation…. A distinctive voice and inspiration for generations of writers, Herrera centers the unprotected while imbuing his work with hope and a sense of possibility.”

The Foundation chose Jason for his “poet’s ear for rhythm and a storyteller’s sense of narrative pacing and structure,” they write. “Reynolds weaves humor, joy, and playfulness into his works. At the same time, he does not shy away from depicting the challenging realities of racism, economic inequity, police brutality, and grief for his young readers. The characters featured in his fiction forge friendships, discover talents, act out, seek forgiveness, face fears, and care for parents with cancer.”

We’re thrilled for Juan Felipe and Jason and hope you will check out more about them and their ambassadorships.