Contact: Lydia Wilson
Virginia Foundation for the Humanities
PH: 434-924-6895
Email: lew4n@virginia.edu
April 21, 2010
For Immediate Release
Virginia-produced public radio program wins second national honor
Charlottesville, VA—With Good Reason, the only statewide public radio show produced in Virginia, has been honored with its second consecutive Gabriel Award, winning Best Arts Programming – Local Release for 2010. The winning entry, “Furious Flower,” features an intimate interview with Lucille Clifton, former Poet Laureate of Maryland. It was likely Clifton’s final interview before her death on February 13, 2010 after a long struggle with cancer.
Lucille Clifton was widely acclaimed for her powerful explorations of race, womanhood, and spirituality in language that is “lucid, passionate and in touch with human nature.” In June 2009, Clifton was honored by the Furious Flower Poetry Center at James Madison University, at a now historic seminar on her poetry which brought more than 40 teachers and scholars from across the nation. Through an interview at the conference with Clifton and a conversation with her biographer, Hilary Holladay, With Good Reason offered listeners a critical understanding of a poet whose contributions to American literature have only recently been widely appreciated.
The 45th Annual Gabriel Awards honor film, television and radio programs that “affirm the dignity of human beings” and recognize and uphold “universally recognized human values such as community, creativity, tolerance, justice, compassion and the dedication to excellence.” The line-up of recipients for this year's Gabriels includes radio programs created by American Public Media, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, America Abroad Media, Sirius XM Radio, and Boston's WBUR, among others.
With Good Reason, a program of the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities is heard weekly on all of Virginia’s public radio stations. Hosted by news veteran Sarah McConnell, With Good Reason presents engaging conversations with leading scholars at Virginia’s public colleges and universities. Previous programs can be heard by podcast and are archived online. “Furious Flower” can be found at withgoodreasonradio.org.
In 2009, a With Good Reason program entitled “In the Wake of Violence,” created on the occasion of the first anniversary of the 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech received a Gabriel Award in the category of “Best News/Informational Radio Programming.”
“With Good Reason” features teachers and scholars from Virginia’s public colleges and universities, focusing on a broad range of practical, informative and reflective topics. The program and related news-style features reach a general audience estimated at 5.5 million annually.
The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, based in Charlottesville, is dedicated to promoting the humanities, and to using the humanities to address issues of broad public concern. In all of its programs, the Foundation works to make scholarship accessible; to promote understanding and discussion of enduring and contemporary issues; and to broaden the range of educational opportunities available to all Virginians.
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