The University is known for its praiseworthy and highly gifted professors, and one faculty member in particular has found a chance to shine.
Last Wednesday evening, Lisa Russ Spaar, poet and administrator of the University's Creative Writing Program, was one of six women writers nationwide awarded the Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award. She received the award in recognition of her recent book of poetry, "Glass Town," published in 1999 by Red Hen Press.
"It didn't seem real. It was almost like a fairytale," Spaar said, reflecting on the experience.
Spaar was presented with the award at Rockefeller Center in New York City, where she said she saw "an amazing sunset" while she was there. In addition to the great honor, she received $8,500, which she will use to "buy some time to write."
She said she has three children and is "happily crowded," but is left with little time to do research needed for her new book of poems.
English Department Chairman Michael Levenson said the award was "fantastic." It went to "one of the most promising young poets in the country," he said.
"We receive a lot of awards in the English Department, but this is a particularly radiant one," he added.
Author Rona Jaffe, for whom the award is named, attended the ceremonies, as did other notable publishers, editors and writers. As part of the ceremony, Spaar read a piece from a new book she is currently working on at New York University.
"It feels great to have other editors and writers sanction your work," Spaar said.
In addition to the prestigious award, Spaar has had a fulfilling life and career. A native of Piscataway, N.J., she attended both undergraduate school and received her Master's degree in Fine Arts from the University. Before returning to the University as a lecturer 10 years later, she taught at the University of Northern Texas and James Madison University.
Spaar was a finalist for the National Poetry Series awards in 1997 and received a Virginia Commission for the Arts Individual Artist's Award in 1996.
Winners of the Rona Jaffe Award were selected based on nominations from writers, editors and scholars. Nominees then had to submit some of their work. Out of 100 nominees, two poets, two fiction writers and two non-fiction writers were awarded.
Colleagues praised Spaar's accomplishment.
"As far as we are concerned it is absolutely fantastic that she is getting the national recognition she deserves," Virginia Quarterly Review Editor Staige Blackford said.
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