In new book, Ellen Burstyn reveals the secret that fueled her award-winning career: poetry

NEW YORK (AP) — Oscar winner Ellen Burstyn has a book coming out next year that reveals how she has been shaped by the power of words.

HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, announced Wednesday that Burstyn’s “Poetry Says It Better” will be released April 28, 2026. Burstyn, 93, is known for such films as “The Last Picture Show” and “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” for which she won an Academy Award; the TV shows “Political Animals” and “House of Cards” and the Broadway production “Same Time, Next Year.”

Burstyn’s favorite poets include Maya Angelou, Mary Oliver and William Butler Yeats.

“I’ve been lucky enough to spend my professional life as an actress: I worked as a model and dancer from the day I left high school and eventually reached a pinnacle in my career and won an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards,” Burstyn said in a statement. “Nevertheless, it is poetry that has fueled and sustained me throughout my career and has been interwoven with every major life milestone I’ve ever experienced.”

Burstyn also is the author of “Lessons in Becoming Myself,” a memoir published in 2006.