Academics

English faculty member awarded Poetry Society of America Chapbook Fellowship

MIDDLETOWN, Pa. — Heather Hamilton, assistant teaching professor of English composition in the School of Humanities at Penn State Harrisburg, was awarded the Poetry Society of America Chapbook Fellowship in 2018 for her manuscript "Here is a Clearing." The Poetry Society of America will publish her book in June 2019.

She teaches courses in composition, creative writing, and writing in the disciplines. Originally from Mobile, Alabama, Hamilton holds a bachelor of arts degree in English from the University of Alabama, a master of fine arts degree in creative writing from the University of Florida, and a doctorate in English and comparative literature with a focus in creative writing from the University of Cincinnati, where she received an Academy of American Poets prize.

Her poems have appeared in Subtropics, Birmingham Poetry Review, RHINO, Willow Springs, Southern Poetry Review, Third Coast, Poetry Northwest, and Verse Daily, among other journals.

The fellowship competition involved poets throughout the country submitting their manuscripts for judging. Poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil selected Hamilton’s work as one of the winning submissions.

Each of the winners received $1,000 and was invited to teach a single class at Purchase College for $1,000 under the sponsorship of the Royal and Shirley Durst Chair in Literature.

Last Updated June 19, 2019