The Bookshelf

Every year, the Macarthur Foundation presents a series an award to a number of people who are making a huge difference in their field. Whether in science, art, community work, literature, or another field, this $500,000 “genius grant” is meant to represent a firm belief in the recipient’s contributions to our culture, and a strong encouragement to continue their great work.

The 2009 Macarthur Fellows were just announced this morning. Among them are creators whose work can be found in the library:

Edwidge Danticat; memoirist and chronicler of the Hatian immigrant experience. Her most recent work is Brother, I’m Dying.

Rackstraw Downes; landscape painter whose work often illustrates the intersection of man-made structures in a natural landscape. He has written and edited a number of works on contemporary art, one of which is in our collection.

Deborah Eisenberg; short story writer who creates intimate portraits of contemporary American life.

James Longley; filmmaker and director  of the Oscar-nominated documentary Iraq in Fragments.

Heather McHugh; poet known for her deftly constructed works focusing on intricate wordplay and the joys of language.

Elyn Saks; attorney and mental health rights advocate. Author of The Center Cannot Hold, a personal chronicle of her own struggle with schizophrenia.

The other Fellows include environmentalists, papermakers, and ornithologists, among other fields.

If you had the opportunity, who would you give a “genius grant” to? Let us know in the comments!