HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_029517

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HARVARD UNIVERSITY 
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH 
Barker Center - 12 Quincy Street - Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 
ELISA NEW 
Powell M. Cabot Professor of American Literature 
November 25, 2018 
Dear Ms. Williams: 
Tel: 
Fax: 
I am writing now to invite you to be a featured guest of Poetry in America 
(poetryinamerica.org). Poetry in America's first season's guests included Bill Clinton, 
Joe Biden, Cynthia Nixon, Shaquille O'Neal, Yo Yo Ma, Samantha Power, Herbie 
Hancock, John McCain, Nas, Angela Duckworth, Bono, Regina Spektor, Frank Gehry, 
Stuart Weitzman, E.O. Wilson, and many others. Seasons Two and Three will feature just 
as distinguished a line up. The series airs on public television stations everywhere, 
streams via Amazon Prime and other streaming services, and it is now also airing on a 
variety of domestic and international airlines. 
The poem we'd read and interpret together is by Pulitzer Prize winner Sharon Olds, and 
it's called "The Language of the Brag." It's a gutsy poem that compares feats of (male) 
athletic prowess—and feats of poetic prowess—to childbirth. You are the ideal reader for 
this poem. We would use what we filmed together in an upcoming season of Poetry in 
America. We would also use the content in an online course for medical professionals I 
am creating in partnership with Harvard Medical School. Everything we create would be 
non-commercial and educational. 
Thank you for considering this request. I would be very honored to work with you. 
Sincerely, 
Elisa New 
Director and Host of Poetry in America 
Powell M. Cabot Professor, Harvard 
HOUSE OVERSIGHT 029517 

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