Ellen Bryant Voigt and Heather McHugh celebrate MacArthur Fellowships at reception

Ellen Bryant Voigt, founder of the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College, and Heather McHugh, veteran faculty member, were honored on Friday, January 8, at a reception at the College celebrating their MacArthur Fellowships. Voigt and McHugh spent the evening reading from their work, discussing their process, and conversing with the attendees.

Voigt is one of 24 Fellows recognized by the MacArthur Foundation in its most recent round of awards, announced last September. McHugh received her fellowship in 2009.Two additional members of the WWC MFA faculty have been previously recognized with fellowships by the MacArthur Foundation: Eleanor Wilner in 1991 and Andrea Barrett in 2001.

MacArthur Fellowships provide a significant amount of money–$625,000 in Voigt’s case–to live life with the “flexibility to pursue their own artistic, intellectual and professional activities,” according to the MacArthur Foundation. “For me, it translates very directly into available time,” said Voigt. “It gives me time to read, time to think. I hope time to make poems.”

FOW FORUM