R. Dwayne Betts Wins 2012 Ruth Lilly Fellowship

Reginald Dwayne Betts (poetry, ’10) has been named a Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship winner for 2012.  The $15,000 scholarship is awarded annually to five poets between the ages of 21 and 31, to encourage their further “study and writing of poetry.”

The editors of Poetry magazine selected the winning manuscripts from more than 1,000 submissions. In announcing the winners, Poetry senior editor Don Share said, “When Harriet Monroe founded Poetry one hundred years ago, she excelled at discovering and nurturing young poets. I think she would be very pleased with the 2012 Ruth Lilly Fellows.” Editor Christian Wiman added, “The history of Poetry is filled with some of the best-known names in American poetry; my guess is that these young poets will be among those we’ll be talking about in the years to come.”

Other fellowship recipients are Nicholas Friedman, Richie Hofmann, Rickey Laurentiis, and Jacob Saenz.  For more information visit PoetryFoundation.org.