Two of Twelve Finalists for Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship, Bennington’s Own

Bennington alumna Valerie Wetlaufer ’05 and current student Amanda Auchter MFA ’08 are two of just twelve finalists left in the running for the prestigious Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship. Given annually to two promising young poets, the Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowships are awarded through a national competition open to undergraduate and graduate students in creative writing or English who are enrolled in a university or college at the time of the application. The Fellowship is particularly prominent in that they each carry an award of $15,000, which is among the largest prizes offered for aspiring writers in the United States.

Organized by the Poetry Foundation, The Fellowship invites college and university writing and literature department chairs to nominate their most promising writing student each year. This year, Bennington’s Graduate Writing Seminars core poetry faculty member Amy Gerstler nominated Aucher—Editor of Pebble Lake Review and author of the chapbook Light Under Skin. “Amanda is a dedicated lyric poet.” Gerstler continues, “Her work is full of passionate intelligence and grace, which she approaches with great energy and diligence.”

Auchter has won several awards including the 2007 Theodore Morrison Scholarship in Poetry from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the 2006 BOMB Magazine Poetry Prize, and the 2005 James Wright Poetry Award from Mid-American Review. Her poems appear in Best New Poets 2006, Barrow Street, Court Green, Crab Orchard Review, The Iowa Review, Poetry Daily, and other publications.

After graduating from Bennington, Valerie Wetlaufer ’05 went on to continue her studies at Florida State University, where she was selected by the University’s writing faculty for consideration, accompanying Auchter on the shortlist of finalist.

To read Amanda Auchter's poem "The Wounded Angel, 1903," published on Poetry Daily, click here.
To read the Bennington Banner's coverage, click here.