A Child’s Garden of Poetry Receives Primetime Emmy® Nomination

CHICAGO— The Poetry Foundation is proud to announce that A Child’s Garden of Poetry, a half-hour children’s special produced in collaboration with HBO, has been nominated in the category of Outstanding Children’s Program for a 2011 Primetime Emmy® Award. Produced by HBO/HBO Family in association with the Poetry Foundation, A Child’s Garden of Poetry features whimsical animation, contributions from children, and readings by notable performers, including Claire Danes, Carrie Fisher, Josh Hamilton, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ziggy Marley, Dave Matthews, Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson, and Jeffrey Wright and archival recordings from renowned poets e.e. cummings, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Carl Sandburg.

A Child’s Garden of Poetry is the second collaboration between the Poetry Foundation and director-producer Amy Schatz. Classical Baby (I’m Grown Up Now): The Poetry Show, which debuted in April 2008, won an Emmy in the category of Outstanding Children’s Program.

“The Poetry Foundation is delighted to once again be recognized by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences; the nomination acknowledges poetry’s importance in our culture,” said John Barr, president of the Poetry Foundation. “This captivating program brings joy—and poetry—to all who watch it, young and old.”

Emmy® winners will be announced during the Creative Arts Awards and Ball on Saturday, September 10, in Los Angeles.

Poems featured in the program include the following:

• “My Shadow,” by Robert Louis Stevenson, read by Julianne Moore
• “The Road Not Taken,” by Robert Frost, read by Philip Seymour Hoffman
• “sweet spring is your time . . . ,” written and read by e.e. cummings
• “An Old Silent Pond,” by Matsuo Basho, read by Josh Hamilton
• “Thoughts on a Still Night,” by Li Bai, read by Fiona, age seven
• “The Tropics in New York,” by Claude McKay, read by Ziggy Marley
• “When You Are Old,” by William Butler Yeats, read by Liam Neeson
• “Harlem 2,” by Langston Hughes, read by Kason, age eight
• “Calico Pie,” words and illustrations by Edward Lear, song by Natalie Merchant
• Excerpts from Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, read by Jeffrey Wright
• “Recuerdo,” written and read by Edna St. Vincent Millay
• “Brother,” by Mary Ann Hoberman, read by Carrie Fisher
• “‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers,” by Emily Dickinson, read by Claire Danes and signed by Rachel, age nine
• “Buffalo Dusk,” written and read by Carl Sandburg
• “Daffodils,” by William Wordsworth, read by Dave Matthews
• “The Lake Isle of Innisfree,” by William Butler Yeats, read by Liam Neeson and Emily, age six

An HBO/HBO Family original program, A Child’s Garden of Poetry was created in association with the children’s poetry and media programs at the Poetry Foundation. A Child's Garden of Poetry was also recently nominated for a Television Critics Association Award for Outstanding Achievement in Youth Programming.

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About the Poetry Foundation
The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine, is an independent literary organization committed to a vigorous presence for poetry in our culture. It exists to discover and celebrate the best poetry and to place it before the largest possible audience. The Poetry Foundation seeks to be a leader in shaping a receptive climate for poetry by developing new audiences, creating new avenues for delivery, and encouraging new kinds of poetry through innovative literary prizes and programs. For more information, please visit www.poetryfoundation.org.