Two University creative writing professors received Library of Virginia Literary awards in recognition of their poetry works Saturday. The institution awarded Lisa Spaar its annual poetry prize and named Charles Wright as its recipient of the Carole Weinstein Poetry Prize.
The Library of Virginia has been honoring writers based in Virginia through its annual prizes since 1997 in three separate categories: fiction, nonfiction and poetry, said Jan Hathcock, the Library of Virginia's public information and policy coordinator. Each year, a panel of judges selects three finalists in each category from a pool of nominations, and the winners are announced during a ceremony held on the third Saturday in October, she said.
Spaar was honored for her book of poetry, "Satin Cash," which takes its title from an Emily Dickinson poem, Spaar said. It consists of both lyric and short poems, covering a variety of topics, such as love and the natural world, she added.
"Everything I do becomes part of the poetry," Spaar said, "This book has a lot in it about my children leaving, empty-nesting, my mother's illness, my own mortality [and] relation to language."\nAfter hearing her name announced at the ceremony last Saturday, Spaar said she was shocked to be chosen as the winner.
"The other three [finalists] were amazing poets - I didn't think I'd win," she said.
The panel of judges was especially impressed with Spaar's work. "Lisa Russ Spaar forges a highly individual manner refreshingly at odds with the current period style," the panel noted in a written statement. "'Satin Cash' is the work of a highly accomplished and ambitious poet."
Wright, meanwhile, was awarded the Carole Weinstein Poetry Prize, which was founded in 2005 to recognize poets in Central Virginia with an annual $10,000 prize. Weinstein established the award because she "wanted to bring more prominent attention to poets in her area, and recognize writers who have made a significant contribution to the art of poetry," said Don Selby, curator of the Weinstein Poetry Prize and co-editor of the Web site Poetry Daily.
The award recognizes Wright's "achievement of his whole career but also the latest manifestation of it," Selby said, citing Wright's 40-year career in poetry, work as a University professor and latest book of poetry, 'Sestets,' as examples of Wright's continued success.
"It's hard to say what people find in your work," Wright said. "I like to think I'm serious in my work. Maybe they like that, maybe they like the idea that I write about Central Virginia sometimes, maybe they like my haircut"
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