Awards
Department of English Awards
Mark David Clawson Award
The Mark David Clawson award (two per year, approximately $400) is an annual prize awarded for an outstanding summa cum laude thesis by an undergraduate whose major is English. Established in 1991, the award is in memory of Mark David Clawson, a summa cum laude English major graduate at the University of Minnesota. All graduates who have received a Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude in English during the previous calendar year are eligible to compete for the prize and are automatically considered.
The honors thesis may be a partially creative work, a literary analysis essay, or a literary theory essay, but must be completed and approved by the thesis adviser and the other two readers by December 31. This competition is publicized each year to thesis writers and to their thesis advisers. Selection criteria are determined by the English Department Scholarships and Awards committee, who will select one or two recipients from among all candidates. Presentation of the award is usually made at the English Department's recognition day ceremony, held in April or May of each year. A brief biographical sketch of Mark Clawson will be read then, and the award recipient will have an opportunity to meet Mark Clawson's family members.
Academy of American Poets James Wright Prize for Poetry
The Academy of American Poets James Wright Prize for Poetry is open to undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Minnesota. The award is $100. The criteria is the quality of writing. The application is a cover sheet (name, address, phone, email, student ID) and 6 of the student's best poems. Names should not appear on MSS. The deadline is Monday, April 7. Submissions should be brought to the Creative Writing Program Office, 222 Lind Hall, by the deadline date.