Student Fellowships & Grants
The Mary Barnard Academy of American Poets Prize Contest
The Academy of Poets, as part of their Academy Book Awards, sponsors the University and College Poetry Prize Program to distribute annual prizes at over 200 colleges and universities nationwide. Through the prize program, founded in 1955 with ten schools, the Academy has awarded more than $350,000 to nearly 10,000 student poets since the program's inception. Many of America's most esteemed poets won their first recognition through an Academy College Prize, including Diane Ackerman, Toi Derricotte, Mark Doty, Alice Fulton, Tesws Gallagher, Louise Glück, Allen Grossman, Jorie Graham, Kimiko Hahn, Joy Harjo, Robert Hass, Li-Young Lee, Brad Leithauser, J. D. McClatchy, Heather McHugh, Gregory Orr, Robert Pinsky, Sylvia Plath, Mark Rudman, Mary Jo Salter, Gjertrud Schnackenberg, George Starbuck, Mark Strand, and Charles Wright. All winners are announced in the Academy's Annual Report. University faculty members and/or established poets judge entries. Winners are announced at the end of the spring semester.
A $100 prize is endowed by Reed College in honor of Mary Barnard for the best poem or group of poems submitted by a Reed undergraduate. Mary Barnard (1909-2001), a Reed graduate (class of 1932), was a renowned poet and writer, and a translator of classical literature, including the following fragment from Sappho:
"Although they are
only breath, words
which I command
are immortal."
An established poet selected each year judges the Mary Barnard Academy of American Poets Prize Contest at Reed College. The English Department coordinates the contest with the Academy to ensure that it is properly conducted. The contest is open to all disciplines; to ALL Reed undergraduates who are enrolled as of the contest due date. There are no restrictions regarding theme or style. To enter the contest, students should submit the following to the English Department, Vollum 320, Karen Bondaruk, ext. 7753, kmb@reed.edu. The 2012-13 deadline is Monday, April 1, 2013, no later than 12 noon.
2012-13 Instructions for Submissions
- A maximum of two (2) poems may be submitted.
- Three (3) copies of each page must be submitted.
- Poems must be typed with your name, mail stop, phone number, year in school, email, and a postal address good through May 15, 2013, LISTED ON EACH PAGE; NO cover sheet.
Earlier submissions are welcome. Submissions will not be returned. Absolute deadline for 2013 is 12 noon, Monday, April 1st to Vollum 320, Karen Bondaruk, kmb@reed.edu.
The 2012–13 contest judge for Reed College is Matthew Dickman who is the author of two full-length poetry books, All-American Poet, published by Copper Canyon Press, which won the American Poetry Review/Honickman First Book Prize, and Mayakovsky's Revolver, just published by Norton. He has received the Kate Tufts Discovery Award and a May Sarton Award, among other honors. He teaches at the Attic Institute in Portland, Oregon.