Collier Honored by American Academy of Arts and Letters
June 29, 2010
Michael Collier will accept his prize at the 2009 "Academy Awards in Literature" at a New York City gala this May.
The American Academy of Arts and Letters recently announced the winners of its annual Academy Awards.
Since 1941, the Academy Awards have sought to honor artists, writers, composers and architects for "exceptional accomplishment in any genre." Professor of English Michael Collier is one of seven writers to be honored for 2009. Recent winners in the field of literature include Barbara Ehrenreich, Edward P. Jones, and Tobias Wolff.
Collier's many achievements include a Guggenheim Fellowship, a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and a term as Maryland's Poet Laureate. Collier also served as the Director of Poetry Programs at the Folger Shakespeare Library and has, since 1994, served as the Director of the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference. Collier's books of poetry include Dark Wild Realm (Houghton Mifflin, 2006), The Ledge (Houghton Mifflin, 2000), The Neighbor (Chicago, 1995), The Folded Heart (Wesleyan, 1989), and The Clasp and Other Poems (Wesleyan, 1986).
This is the third time the American Academy of Arts and Letters has honored a member of the English Department this decade. Stanley Plumly won an Academy Award in 2002 and Joshua Weiner won the Rome Prize in 2003.
Read more about Collier's award here.