UM Student Attains Prestigious Writing Fellowship at Stanford
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| Essy Stone, MFA ’14 |
Essy Stone, MFA ’14, was named a Stegner Fellow in Poetry. The prestigious Wallace Stegner Fellowship at Stanford University offers ten two-year fellowships annually, five in poetry and five in fiction. This unique writing program regards fellows as working artists, freeing them from curricular requirements other than attending workshops, so they have time and space to create.
“It is a highly competitive program and we are pleased and proud of Essy's achievement,” said M. Evelina Galang, director of creative writing and associate professor of English in the UM College of Arts & Sciences. Stone is a student in the three-year MFA program, which highlights the professional development for writers and poets. Specific areas of focus include: grants and fellowships, like the Stegner; publication of creative work; and the search for employment post-degree.
“I’m honored to receive the fellowship,” said Stone. “I am lucky to have had access to my amazing mentors, particularly Maureen Seaton, Valerie Martinez, John Murillo, Traci Brimhall, Jaswinder Bolina, and Marilyn Kallet.”
Stone hails from Lenoir City, TN, and earned her BA from University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her early life experiences influenced her interests in the intersection of gender roles, class issues, and religion in Southern Appalachia. Her favorite line of poetry comes from Allan Dugan’s “Love Song: I and Thou”— “By Christ, I am no carpenter.”
