Mellon Voices
The Words and Wisdom of Natalie Diaz
Power of the Word
How does language shape and change culture?
“America is for Dreamers,” an exhibit featuring the work of artist Patrick Martinez on display at the Vincent Price Art Museum in Monterey Park, CA in 2018. Photo: Monica Orozco
By inviting us to stop, read, and listen, words act as windows into our shared humanity. They inform how we collect our past and inspire how we build our future. Mellon celebrates literary expression in all forms and the futures that might be imagined through the written word.
Event
Race and Revelation in Our American Stories
Yale University
Felony and Freedom with Reginald Dwayne Betts
The Center for Economic Research and Social Change, Inc.
Freedom, Put in Writing
Directed by Sindha Agha
“Democracy” by Langston Hughes
Twenty Five Years
Celebrating National Poetry Month
From the Heart Productions, Inc.
A Legendary Poet’s Home Becomes a Sanctuary for Young Artists
Mellon Fellows
An Acclaimed Scholar Reflects on Black Life and Literature
Event
Reading Poetry, Engaging America
Voice
America’s Saving Spaces
Read the essay 
Emily Drabinski
Associate Professor
Queens College Graduate School of Library and Information Studies
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