2009 Speakers and Moderators

is the director of the Harman-Eisner Program in the Arts at The Aspen Institute. From 2003 to 2009, Gioia was the ninth chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, where he helped to create the largest programs in the agency’s history, including the Big Read, Shakespeare in American Communities, and Poetry Out Loud. He also led the US cultural delegation to UNESCO. Gioia has written and contributed to many books, including Interrogations at Noon (Graywolf Press, 2001), which won the American Book Award in poetry. A translator and opera librettist, Gioia has also edited over two-dozen literary anthologies and has ten honorary doctorates. Gioia is a poet, critic, educator, and former business executive, including a position as vice president of marketing for Kraft-General Foods.