Photos: YouTube Screenshots
NEW YORK, NY — Tuesday, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s transition team announced that Cornelius Eady will serve as the inaugural poet at the historic inauguration ceremony on the afternoon of January 1. Eady is one of the most consequential American poets of the last half-century — an artist whose work has consistently the inner lives of people too often rendered invisible. His selection signals an administration that understands culture not as ornament, but as infrastructure.
“A true poet does more than conjure rhymes or compose in carefully measured meter — they tell the truth about the world we live in,” said Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. “Cornelius Eady has that rare gift. He has four decades writing about the parts of life too often ignored. It is an honor to have him as our inaugural poet, and l am grateful that he chose to write something new for this occasion. As we work to build a New York where every voice is heard, it is a privilege to usher in this moment with a poet who has dedicated his career to that very work.”
Eady is an award-winning poet, playwright, and musician whose work celebrates and reflects the diversity of New York life. He is co-founder of Cave Canem, the landmark nonprofit that has transformed the landscape of American poetry by nurturing generations of Black poets. More than 500 fellows have passed through the Cave Canem retreat, among them some of the most influential poets of our time, such as Terrance Hayes, Tracy K. Smith, and Tyehimba Jess. Additionally, he is a recipient of the 2025 Wallace Stevens Award from the Academy of American Poets and a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. His poetry collections include Brutal Imagination, The Gathering of My Name, and Victims of the Latest Dance Craze.
“I am thrilled and honored to be invited to be the Inaugural Poet by Mayor Zohran Mamdani,” said Inaugural Poet Cornelius Eady. “His election to office was the brightest spot in an otherwise troubled political year, and my poem will hopefully serve as a reflection and celebration of the hard but joyful work that so many people put in to make this moment happen.”
The acclaimed poet will deliver an original poem titled “Proof” written specifically for this moment and for New York City, marking the beginning of the Mamdani administration with a literary work rooted in moral clarity, cultural memory, and democratic imagination.
“Cornelius Eady is a true New York poet in a lineage of the great bards of our city and its abundant song,” said President of the Mellon Foundation and President Obama’s Inaugural Poet Elizabeth Alexander. “He is a beloved figure who has mentored countless poets and, with Toi Derricotte, built a literary home in Cave Canem that has left an indelible imprint on American literature. His poetry sings, soars, and provokes, bringing forth the many voices he listens for. I can think of no poet better to offer words to lift us on this glorious and meaningful occasion, and it is powerful that Mayor-elect Mamdani has chosen to bring poetry to the inauguration.”
