HARVARD UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH Barker Center - 12 Quincy Street - Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 ELISA NEW Powell M. Cabot Professor of American Literature November 25, 2018 Dear Ms. Williams: Tel: Fax: I am writing now to invite you to be a featured guest on my public television series, Poetry in America (poetryinamerica.org). Poetry in America's first season's guests included Bill Clinton, Joe Biden, Cynthia Nixon, Shaquille O'Neal, Yo Yo Ma, Samantha Power, Herbie Hancock, John McCain, Nas, Angela Duckworth, Bono, Regina Spektor, Frank Gehry, Stuart Weitzman, E.O. Wilson and many others. In Seasons Two and Three we will have just as distinguished a line up. The series airs on public television stations everywhere, streams via Amazon Prime and other streaming services, and it is now also airing on a variety of domestic and international airlines. The poem I'd like to read and interpret with you is by Pulitzer Prize winner, Sharon Olds, and it's called "The Language of the Brag." It's a gutsy poem that compares feats of (male) athletic prowess-- and feats of poetic prowess-- to childbirth. You are the ideal reader for this poem: indeed, I picked it for the season in hopes you would be my co-interpreter. If you agree to film with me, I'll use what we capture in an upcoming season of Poetry in America. I'll also use the content in an online course for medical professionals I am creating in partnership with Harvard Medical School. I thank you for considering this request. I would be very honored to work with you. Sincerely, Elisa New HOUSE OVERSIGHT 029592