Ellis' The Maverick Room wins Whiting Writers Award
October 28, 2005 | For more information: Susan Griffith 216-368-1004
Thomas Sayers Ellis, associate professor of English at Case Western Reserve University, received the Whiting Writers Award for his book of poetry, The Maverick Room (Graywolf Press, 2005), during ceremonies in New York City, October 27. The latest honor joins a list of recognitions for his poetic look at neighborhood and native speech that is hailed as "an opus of sonic site-specific artistry."
About winning this award, Ellis said, "I can only describe the feeling in terms of and in appreciation of the tradition out of which I write and am in debt to. I felt "got ovah" and swollen with the blessings of many, as if my specific train, my cultural noise struggling to become language and literature and full of folks needing to be heard was pulling into the station. I felt "down by the (percussive) riverside." I felt People Get Ready."
He added that he knew the book had been nominated for several prizes but not this very private one. "I felt every pore, an exclamation."
The Whiting Writers Award, established in 1985 by the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation in New York City, honors emerging writers of exceptional talent in fiction, nonfiction, poetry and plays during the early part of their careers.
Ellis is among this year's honorees that include one playwright, three fiction writers, five poets and one who writes both poetry and fiction. Each will receive an award of $40,000.
"The Whiting Awards again celebrate an exceptional group of writers who, this year, come from all over the country, from Florida to Alaska," says Barbara K. Bristol, director of the Writers' Program. "All of them have published a first book, and the smaller, independent presses are well represented. This year, too, there is a particularly strong showing for poetry. We are grateful to our selectors for ferreting out some of the most exciting and gifted writers who are now beginning to publish their work."
Hundred of anonymous nominators from across the country whose experience and vocations give them knowledge about individuals of extraordinary talent propose candidates for the award.
A small anonymous selection committee of recognized writers, literary scholars and editors, appointed annually by the Foundation, meet four times over the year to discuss and review the candidates' works until the list is narrowed to the proposed winners. The committee then recommends up to 10 writers for awards to the Foundation's Trustees.
Since its inception, the program has awarded more than $5 million to 210 poets, fiction and nonfiction writers and playwrights. Among the past recipients who have later achieved prominence in their field are Jonathan Franzen, William T. Vollman, Mary Karr, Colson Whitehead, Tony Kushner, Jeffrey Eugenides, August Wilson, Jorie Graham, Cristina Garcia, and Suzan-Lori Parks.
In addition to his newest collection of poems, Ellis has published The Good Junk as part of Graywolf Press' Take Three #1 in 1996 and a chapbook called The Genuine Negro Hero ( Kent State University Press, 2001). He has edited a volume called Emerging Poets and Artists (1993). Currently he is compiling an edited volume called Quotes Community: Notes for Black Poets. Ellis also serves as a contributing editor to Callaloo.
Ellis' work has also appeared in a number of noted poetry journals and magazines, among which are The American Poetry Review, Best American Poetry (1997 and 2001), Ploughshares and Pushcart Prize 1998.
His work has been supported with fellowships from the Ohio Arts Council, The MacDowell Colony, the Fine Arts Work Center (in Provincetown) and Yaddo.
About Case Western Reserve University
Case is among the nation's leading research institutions. Founded in 1826
and shaped by the unique merger of the Case Institute of Technology and Western
Reserve University, Case is distinguished by its strengths in education, research,
service, and experiential learning. Located in Cleveland, Case offers nationally
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Law, Management, Medicine, Nursing, and Social Work. http://www.case.edu.
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