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

FILE - Ellen Burstyn arrives at the AFI Awards on Friday, Jan. 12, 2024, at the Four Seasons Beverly Hills in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File) (Chris Pizzello, Invision)

NEW YORK – 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 ā€œPoetry Says It Betterā€ will be released April 28, 2026. Burstyn, 93, is known for such films as ā€œThe Last Picture Showā€ and ā€œAlice Doesn't Live Here Anymore,ā€ for which she won an Academy Award; the TV shows ā€œPolitical Animalsā€ and ā€œHouse of Cardsā€ and the Broadway production ā€œSame Time, Next Year.ā€

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

ā€œI’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,ā€ Burstyn said in a statement. ā€œNevertheless, 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.ā€

Burstyn also is the author of ā€œLessons in Becoming Myself,ā€ a memoir published in 2006.