Trethewey To Join American Academy of Arts and Sciences

U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey, a resident of Decatur, will be inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Her election to the national honorary society was announced on the webpage for Emory University, where Trethewey is an English professor and director of the creative writing program.

Among the 198 new inductees are singers Bruce Springsteen, Pete Seeger and actress Sally Field.

The academy website says, "Founded in 1780, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs."

New members will be inducted in an Oct. 12 ceremony  at the academy’s headquarters in Cambridge, Mass. The group currently has about 4,600 members.