Meryl Streep honored by another Academy

The American Academy of Arts and Letters names Meryl Streep as honorary member to “an elite club that includes Toni Morrison, Stephen Sondheim and Jasper Johns.” As reader Sertan points out, Streep is the first person asked to join the Academy solely for achievement in acting.

Not even two Oscars, seven Golden Globes and a lifetime achievement prize from the American Film Institute prepared Streep for this.

“I have to say that I was stunned, and when they sent me the roster of people in the academy I just burst into tears,” Streep said in a recent telephone interview. “I couldn’t believe that I’d be even allowed in the kitchen.”

The 112-year-old academy announced Monday that Streep and conductor James Levine had been elected to a special category, established in 1983, for “Americans of great distinction in the arts whose work falls outside the traditional departments” of music (composition), literature and art.