The Rev. Robert F. Griffin, C.S.C., Award - 2014: Beth Ann Fennelly ’93

2014: Beth Ann Fennelly ’93

In honor of her distinguished career as a poet and author, Beth Ann Fennelly ’93 is presented with this award.

Fennelly graduated from Notre Dame, magna cum laude, with a B.A. in English. She earned an M.F.A. from the University of Arkansas and then went to the University of Wisconsin as the recipient of the Diane Middlebrook Fellowship.

Fennelly’s poetry has earned her widespread acclaim and recognition. She has won grants from the N.E.A., the MS Arts Commission, and United States Artists. Fennelly’s work has won a Pushcart Prize and has been included in The Best American Poetry series three times.She has read poetry at the Library of Congress at the invitation of the U.S. Poet Laureate. Fennelly also writes essays on travel, culture, and design for Country Living, Southern Living, AFAR, Garden and Gun, The Oxford American, and other publications.

Fennelly has published three full-length poetry books: Open House, Tender Hooks, and Unmentionables. She also wrote Great with Child, a book of nonfiction. The Tilted World, a novel she co-authored with her husband, Tom Franklin, was published in 2013.

Fennelly directs the MFA Program at the University of Mississippi, where she was named OutstandingTeacher of the Year. She lives in Oxford, Mississippi with her husband and their three children.

"Receiving the Griffin Award is immensely gratifying for meIt was at Notre Dame that I had my first gifted teachers and realized that I wanted to be a writer. I took the first steps along a path that has given me much joy, and being welcomed home is one of the most meaningful and affirming honors of my life."