Wouldn't it be nice to have someone send you half a million bucks, just because you're you?

The MacArthur Foundation does it every year, but they seem to have some kind of pesky criteria, such as that you be a genius, which eliminates us in the first round. The MacArthur Fellowship is actually a five-year grant to anyone showing "exceptional creativity in their work." Widely nicknamed the 'genius grant,' we thought it would be interesting to have a quick look at those in the arts who recently won the award.

You can read about poet and translator Peter Cole's work translating Arab and Hebrew poetry into English here.

Stuart Dybek is a Distinguished Writer in Residence at Northwestern University best known for his short story collections.

Blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist Corey Harris has a MySpace page and his new album, Zion Crossroads, is a crossover into reggae.

Painter and installation artist Whitfield Lovell creates tableaux honoring anonymous African-Americans. See a range of his works here.

Author of "A Stone's Throw," and "Fabulation," Lynn Nottage is now considered a major, if still not widely known, playwright.

Abstract Expressionist Joan Snyder, now in her 60s, continues to experiment with style and technique.

Dawn Upshaw is a soprano who has also recorded Broadway composers such as Sondheim and Kurt Weill. Her discography is here.

Chinese-born Shen Wei is a choreographer and founder of the Shen Wei Dance Arts troupe, based in New York City.