C.D. Wright wins 2004 MacArthur Fellowship

by Mary Jo Curtis

Time is a commodity in short supply for most of us today - and having the time to indulge a passion or be creative is even rarer. One Brown faculty member, however, has just been given a precious gift of time - five years, to be precise.

Poet C.D. Wright, the Israel J. Kapstein Professor of English and author of 10 volumes of poetry, was named Sept. 28 as a MacArthur Fellow for 2004 by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. As one of the 23 fellows selected this year, she'll receive $500,000 in "no strings attached" support over the next five years.

The MacArthur "genius grants" are designed to provide the nation's most gifted and original individuals the time to do what they do best, whether they are writers, scientists, artists, teachers, entrepreneurs or in other fields. This year's winners, in addition to Wright, include a ragtime composer, a high school debating coach, a farmer and a marine roboticist.

Wright was unaware she was even being considered for the fellowship; all candidates are nominated and evaluated through a rigorous and confidential process. She learned of her selection through a phone call from the foundation last week.

"I think I was incoherent," she said of that phone conversation. "My dream has always been to have the ability to do projects with other people. I know that's not the usual condition of the poet, but I like ensembles, and I like public work. This definitely provides that kind of opportunity."

Wright said she has until January to decide how she will use her award; she has two possible projects in mind, but both are still in the earliest stages of planning. One would involve working again with photographer Deborah Luster, her collaborator on her most recent publication, "One Big Self: Prisoners of Louisiana," in which Wright gave voice to the men and women inmates photographed by Luster at three Louisiana prisons. The book's moving images and text provided an insightful look at the lives of the prisoners, a population of predominantly poor, uneducated African-Americans.

(An exhibition of "One Big Self" will be presented at Brown's Bell Gallery this coming spring.)

"It is exciting, especially in these times, to see such a collection of decidedly bold and risk-taking people who are changing our landscape and advancing our possibilities," MacArthur Fellows Program director Daniel J. Socolow said of this year's fellows. "What they share in common is that each is highly focused, tenacious, and creative. As in past years, these Fellows are not only very good at what they do, their work is also important and distinctively original."

Wright joined the Brown faculty in 1983. Her many published works include "One Big Self" (2003), "Steal Away" (2001), "Deepstep Come Shining" (1998) and "Tremble" (1996), among others, and her poems have appeared in numerous anthologies. Her latest poetry book, "Cooling Time: An American Poetry Vigil," is due to be published in the spring of 2005 by Copper Canyon Press.

In announcing Wright's selection, the MacArthur Foundation made the following comment:

"No single description adequately captures Wright's work; she is an experimental writer, a Southern writer and a socially committed writer, yet she continuously reinvents herself with each new volume. ... Despite her frequent use of experimental structures, her mode of expression is clear and accessible, and her poetry is rooted in the landscape and people of her childhood in Arkansas, often engaging issues of social importance."

Seven other members of the Brown faculty have received past MacArthur Foundation fellowships. They include: John Edgar Wideman, the Asa Messer Professor and professor of African studies and English (1993); Mari Jo Buhle, professor of American civilization and history (1991); David Mumford, professor of mathematics (1987); Shirley Brice Heath, Professor-at-Large (1986); John Imbrie, Henry L. Doherty Professor Emeritus of Oceanography (1981); Robert W. Kates, University Professor and director emeritus of the World Hunger Program (1981); and David Pingree, professor of the history of mathematics and of classics (1981).

As one of the nation's largest private philanthropic foundations, the MacArthur Foundation has awarded more than $3 billion in grants since it began operations in 1978; annual grantmaking totals approximately $175 million. The foundation is named for John D. MacArthur (1897-1978), who developed and owned Bankers Life and Casualty Company and other businesses, and his wife Catherine (1909-1981), who held positions in many of his companies and served as a director of the foundation.