Archibald MacLeish, Boylston Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory, will receive the 1956 Boston Arts Festival poetry award at the annual festival this June. The award, carrying a stipend of $500, is given to a contemporary poet who has made extensive contributions to the art, or has distinguished himself through a recent work.

In June, in accordance with conditions of the award, MacLeish will read a "new work on the occasion of the festival."