Claudia Emerson, Arrington Distinguished Chair in Poetry, is featured in the Tuesday, March 20 edition of The Paris Review. The article, “Two Poets,” retells the author’s encounters with Emerson and includes excerpts from “Secure the Shadow.”
Eric Lorentzen’s Piece on Charles Dickens Appears Nationwide
Associate Professor of English Eric Lorentzen’s article “Dickens at 200: Still Relevant After All These Years” has been picked up by the McClatchy-Tribune newswire and has appeared in numerous publications, including McClatchy D.C., the Sacramento Bee, the Bradenton Herald (Fla.) and the Bellingham Herald (Wash.).
The piece, originally published in The Free Lance-Star on Sunday, Feb. 5, explores the enduring relevance of Dickens’ work in light of the bicentennial of his birth.
Colin Rafferty Featured in The Baltimore Review
Assistant Professor of English Colin Rafferty’s creative nonfiction piece “Digging In” is featured in the Winter 2012 edition of The Baltimore Review.
Allison Seay Wins Prize for Poetry Collection
UMW’s Arrington Poet-in-Residence Allison Seay ’02 has received the 2012 Lexi Rudnitsky First Book Prize in Poetry.
The award is a collaboration between Persea Books and the Lexi Rudnitsky Poetry Project to sponsor the annual publication of a poetry collection by an American woman poet who has yet to publish a full-length book of poems. The winner receives an advance of $1,000 and publication of her collection by Persea Books. Seay won the prize for her collection of poetry, “To See the Queen,” scheduled for publication in April 2013.
As the Arrington Poet-in-Residence, Seay teaches the advanced poetry workshop and the creative writing seminar in poetry at Mary Washington. A Midlothian, Va., native, she is the recipient of the 2011 Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship, one of the largest awards offered to aspiring poets in the United States, and two fellowships from the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Her work has been featured in numerous publications, including Poetry, Crazyhorse and The Southern Review.
For more information, read the full news release from January 25.
Student Wins English Department Scholarship for Creative Writing
Helen Alston of Charlottesville, Va., has been selected to receive the Barbara Thomas Phillips Creative Writing Scholarship for the spring semester of 2012 at UMW. The scholarship is awarded annually to a junior or senior exhibiting excellence in writing.
A senior majoring in English with a concentration in creative writing, Alston is poetry editor of the Aubade, the university’s biannual literary magazine. She also is president of the UMW Hand Percussion Club and a tutor at the Fredericksburg campus Writing Center. Alston has been an orientation leader and has been named to the Dean’s List.
Michael McCarthy Will Appear in The Southern Review
Michael McCarthy, a senior lecturer in the Department of English, Linguistics and Communication, has had four poems accepted for publication by The Southern Review, the literary journal edited at Louisiana State University. The prestigious journal, founded in 1935, is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. McCarthy’s poems, dealing with trees, alienation and the poet William Blake, are to appear in the Fall issue.
Richards Published in Essay Collection and Featured on Bio.com
Gary Richards, assistant professor of English, is featured in three videos on the Biography Channel’s website, focused on Truman Capote, William Faulkner and Harper Lee.
In addition, his essay “Everybody’s Graphic Protest Novel: Stuck Rubber Baby and the Anxieties of Racial Difference” is included in the recently published Comics and the U.S. South (2012).
Claudia Emerson Profiled in January Issue of Northern Virginia Magazine
Claudia Emerson, Arrington Distinguished Chair in Poetry, is featured in the January issue of Northern Virginia Magazine.
The issue is available on newsstands now; the article will be available online at the end of January.
Steve Watkins Receives Fellowship From Virginia Commission for the Arts
Steve Watkins, professor of English, is a recipient of a 2011-2012 Artist Fellowship from the Virginia Commission for the Arts.
The Virginia Commission of the Arts awards fellowships annually to artists residing in Virginia in recognition of creative excellence and to support their pursuit of artistic excellence. Watkins is one of four Virginia artists honored in the field of fiction. Each artist will receive a fellowship of $5,000.
For more information about the fellowship or the VCA, read the Dec. 19 press release.
Chris Foss Publishes Op-Ed in Fredericksburg Newspaper
Chris Foss, associate professor of English, had an op-ed piece published in the Friday, Dec. 9 issue of The Free Lance-Star. In the article, Foss discusses the ways in which the rhetoric surrounding Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol perpetuates stereotypes of individuals with disabilities.