NEW YORK – Wesley McNair, a poet from Mercer, and William PopeL., a visual artist from Lewiston, are two of the first recipients nationwide of USA Fellowships from United States Artists. As a USA fellow, McNair and PopeL. will each receive an unrestricted grant of $50,000 to support their creative work.

In its inaugural year, USA has awarded 50 fellowships to a total of 54 artists, with four fellowships recognizing artists’ collaborations. The winners were selected by expert panels from among 300 applicants representing every artistic discipline and 43 states. USA is a new organization dedicated to providing direct support for living artists as an investment in the nation’s creativity. McNair is one of nine writers and PopeL. is one of 12 visual artists to be named USA Fellows this year.

McNair’s work began with an interest in the working poor of New England – a man who walks drunk off a roof, a woman mourning the old cows who had become her pets – and has become more personal and preoccupied with family over time. His first book of poetry was published in 1983.

PopeL. is know for visceral and bitingly humorous performances that engage in rigorous social critique. For nearly 30 years, he has enacted a series of “crawl pieces,” in which he crawls along the sidewalks and streets to the point of exhaustion, making literal the pain of homelessness, poverty and racism. Most recently, PopeL. has developed “Black Factory,” a traveling performance and installation, to provoke discussions on race through direct audience involvement.

“USA’s goal is to fuel innovation in our culture by investing in creativity at its source: our nation’s finest artists,” said Susan V. Berresford, USA board chair and president of the Ford Foundation. “Our 2006 USA Fellows represent the full spectrum of artistic excellence and broad array of talent that abounds in all US communities. This is exactly what we hoped to achieve when we founded this program.”

McNair and PopeL. were honored Monday at a special event at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City.