NEA chairman nominated - Artworld - poet Dana Gioia nominated by President Bush as National Endowment for the Arts new chair - Brief Article

Art in America, Dec, 2002 by Stephanie Cash, David Ebony

On Oct. 23, President Bush announced his intention to nominate California poet, teacher and critic Dana Gioia as the new chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. As this issue went to press, the nomination had not been made official. A commentator on American culture for BBC radio and classical music critic for San Francisco magazine for the past six years, he is perhaps best known for his book Can Poetry Matter? (1991). Earlier this year, he won the American Book Award for his collection of poems Interrogations at Noon. Gioia, a registered Republican, also spent 15 years as an executive at General Foods.

The top NEA post has been vacant since Jan. 29, when Michael P. Hammond, who had been in office for one week, died unexpectedly [see "Artworld," Mar. '02]. In mid-July, the House approved a $10-million increase in the NEA budget, raising it to $126 million. The budget is still pending a vote in the Senate, which usually restores the funding to its current level.