News
CIIS Professor Judy Grahn Wins 2009 Lambda Literary AwardMay 29 2009
CIIS Professor Judy Grahn has won the 2009 Lambda Literary Award in the category of Lesbian Poetry. Grahn personally accepted the award in New York City at the ceremony where it was announced on May 28. She received the honor for her volume love belongs to those who do the feeling, selected poems published by Red Hen Press. Grahn’s new book contains writing from her entire body of poetry, from her groundbreaking The Work of a Common Woman to new poems written between 1997 and 2008.
“We are extremely grateful that Judy Grahn is member of our MFA faculty, since this prestigious award brings distinction not only to her but to the CIIS community as well,” said CIIS President Joseph L. Subbiondo.
“Judy’s collection is a tremendous example of forty years of poetic mastery and artful activism,” added Cindy Shearer, chair of the Department of Writing, Consciousness, and Creative Inquiry at CIIS. “It was Judy’s founding vision that started our department.” The department features programs that include innovative and interdisciplinary approaches to the art of writing.
The Lambda Literary Awards recognizes excellence in the field of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender writing. Each year, over eighty judges—writers, booksellers, librarians, and journalists—assess the entries in more than twenty categories. For the 2009 awards, more than one hundred finalists representing seventy-two publishers are competing for honors in twenty-two categories.
