Re: Thank You from Lisa and Poetry in America
[{"sender": "jeffrey E. [jeevacation@gmail.com]", "recipients": ["Lisa New"], "timestamp": "12/19/2016 10:39:57 AM", "subject": "Re: Thank You from Lisa and Poetry in America", "body": "barnaby is no longer there. He is at Institue for Advanced Studies. .. That being said, let me ask him if he can shepard you through Templeton"}, {"sender": "Lisa New <lisanew@harvard.edu>", "recipients": ["Jeffrey"], "timestamp": "Sun, Dec 18, 2016 at 11:36 PM", "subject": "Re: Thank You from Lisa and Poetry in America", "body": "Dear Jeffrey (and please see note at bottom),\n\nThis end-of-the-year letter is to catch you up on developments and to report progress made in 2016 by Poetry in America, by its associated non-profit production company, Verse Video Education, and by (and with) our new Harvard partner, the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning. Whether you are a longstanding adviser and supporter of Poetry in America, or you've more recently joined our circle of proponents, your contributions, thought partnership and enthusiasm have made this year's successes possible.\n\nLast fall, I knew this would be a crucial year. Goals for 2016 included moving our co-produced television series, Poetry in America, toward a concrete release date (now entering post-production, we launch nationwide in April 2018), converting our six HarvardX MOOC modules into for-credit courses (now complete and being offered by Harvard's Division of Continuing Education), and getting the word out on our first course developed especially for K-12 educators, Poetry in America for Teachers: The City from Whitman to Hip Hop. With a mission of creating and distributing the highest-quality humanities content for a wide variety of learners, our projects now rely on a salaried production staff of five, a rotating corps of part timers and contractors, and a growing cohort of Harvard graduate students, undergraduates and interns whom we train in the public-facing humanities. Growing fast, in 2016 we more firmly established Verse Video Education as a nimble and stable producer of humanities-based content (now including an archive of over 120 separate interviews with distinguished discussants), while also defining a forward-looking partnership and growth strategy with Harvard. As 2016 draws to a close, I have much progress to report.\n\n[... detailed updates on Verse Video Education, Harvard partnership, teacher course, and TV series ...]\n\nJeffrey,\n\nJust a quick note to thank you again for all the help you've given me. The generous contribution you made last year to Verse Video Education is now in use (we've hired our new editor!). Once he helps us to plow through the work of this year, we'll begin to look forward to crafting educational content on the literature of art, sport and play (these materials now including footage from recent shoots with Shaquille O'Neal, Yo Yo Ma, Cynthia Nixon, Bono and others). 100K makes so much possible.\n\nBut, of course, you've also been a key preceptor as I've learned how --squirming all the way--the sausage really gets made in public television. I can't say I've been entirely successful in taming costs there, but I've been far better armed and more mindful of what they should be after the stern tutorial you administered.\n\nWhenever Templeton might be ready to evaluate another application, I'm ready for another proposal for them. I wonder if you might arrange a meeting for me with the famous Bamaby? I can't yet afford a grant writer, and so the time one of these suckers takes makes me think doing more advance reconnaissance is crucial. Would he meet with me? Kosher? I'd also love to meet with the Blacks as I get closer to making content on theatre. I hope that Debra is well.\n\nAnd heard there's another little Jeff in the caribbean...\n\nBest,\nElisa New"}]