Poet Gets Coveted Fellowship, Returns to UMW

Allison Seay ’02

In only seven years since her graduation from Mary Washington, Allison Seay ’02 has made a name for herself and her poetry. In September, the Poetry Foundation and Poetry magazine awarded Seay the coveted 2011 Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship, one of the largest awards offered to aspiring poets in the United States.

More than 1,000 poets nationwide vied for the $15,000 scholarship, but only five were chosen. Their work was featured in Poetry magazine’s November issue and on www.poetryfoundation.org.

Seay, who received a master of fine arts degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, will return to Mary Washington in January as the inaugural UMW Arrington Poet-In-Residence. She will give a reading, and she will teach the advanced poetry workshop and the creative writing seminar in poetry.