Trump’s Latest Attack on the NEA

Dear Reader,

Late Friday night, Electric Literature—along with at least 40 other literary arts organizations— received a notice from the National Endowment for the Arts that our 2025 grant has been terminated. The reason given was that our work does not “reflect the nation’s rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the President.” This morning, the NEA’s literary arts staff announced their last day would be May 30. 

This is a transparently autocratic effort to dismantle the nation’s most important arts granting organization and to broadly undermine artistic progress. After threatening so many, it is no coincidence that Trump has turned his attacks to the arts.

Creative expression is the lifeblood that vivifies a free and democratic culture. Trump is obsessed with a heritage and legacy of his own imagination, but literature is forward facing and therefore dangerous. Every story, even about the past, is a new story. Every story a writer tells is one Trump cannot control.

Why Electric Literature Isn’t Applying to the NEA

The NEA’s new compliance requirements are anti-trans, so we aren’t applying

Mar 25 – Halimah Marcus

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The NEA has supported hundreds of publishers, 600 translators, and 3,800 writers. The stories told as a result of that support will live on. Electric Literature will continue to publish culturally enriching stories about the past, present, and future with honesty and heart. Please support our work.

Sincerely, 

Halimah Marcus

Executive Director, Electric Literature

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