Craig Blais (born 1978) is an American

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and academic. He is an associate professor of English at

Anna Maria College Anna Maria College is a private Catholic college in Paxton, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded in 1946 as a women's college, but has been coeducational since 1973. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees. History A ...

Early life and education

Blais was born in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

. He earned an Associate of Arts in liberal arts from

Holyoke Community College Holyoke Community College (HCC) is a public community college in Holyoke, Massachusetts. It offers associate degrees and certificate programs, as well as a transfer program for students to earn credits for transfer to other colleges. It was the f ...

, a Bachelor of Art in English from the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1855, it has nearly 9,000 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees ...

, a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

, and a Ph.D. in English from

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

Career

Blais's first book ''About Crows'' won the 2013

Felix Pollak Felix Pollak (November 11, 1909 – November 19, 1987) was an American librarian, translator, and poet. Pollak was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1909 to Geza Pollak and Helene Schneider Pollak. A Jew and liberal anti-fascist, he studied law a ...

Prize in Poetry judged by

Terrance Hayes Terrance Hayes (born November 18, 1971) is an American poet and educator who has published seven poetry collections. His 2010 collection, ''Lighthead'', won the National Book Award for Poetry in 2010. In 2014, he received a MacArthur Fellowship ...

and published by the

University of Wisconsin Press The University of Wisconsin Press (sometimes abbreviated as UW Press) is a Non-profit organization, non-profit university press publishing Peer review, peer-reviewed books and journals. It publishes work by scholars from the global academic comm ...

. ''About Crows'' was awarded Gold Medal in the category of poetry in the 2014 Florida Book Awards competition. His second book ''Moon News'' was selected by former Poet Laureate of the United States

Billy Collins William James Collins (born March 22, 1941) is an American poet who served as the Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003. He was a Distinguished Professor at Lehman College of the City University of New York, retiring in 2016. Co ...

as finalist for the

Miller Williams Stanley Miller Williams (April 8, 1930January 1, 2015) was an American contemporary poet, as well as a university professor, translator and editor. He produced over 25 books and won several awards for his poetry. His accomplishments were chronic ...

Poetry Prize, to be published by the

University of Arkansas Press The University of Arkansas Press is a university press that is part of the University of Arkansas and has been a member of the Association of University Presses since 1984. Its mission is to publish peer-reviewed books and academic journals. It wa ...

in 2021. His poems have appeared in ''

Best New Poets The ''Best New Poets'' series consists of annual poetry anthologies, each containing fifty poems from poets without a previously published collection. The first edition of the series appeared in 2005, and was published, as all later editions hav ...

'', ''

The Antioch Review ''The Antioch Review'' is an American literary magazine established in 1941 at Antioch College in Ohio. The magazine was published on a quarterly basis. One of the oldest continuously published literary magazines in the United States prior to it ...

'', ''Barrow Street'', ''

Hayden's Ferry Review ''Hayden's Ferry Review'' is a literary magazine published biannually by Arizona State University (ASU). The magazine was established in 1986 and is headquartered in the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at ASU. It also manages a bl ...

'', ''

Los Angeles Review The ''Los Angeles Review'' is an annual print and online literary journal. It was established in 2003. Dr. Kate Gale, managing editor of Red Hen Press Red Hen Press is an American non-profit press located in Pasadena, California, and special ...

'', ''

New Welsh Review ''New Welsh Review'' is a literary magazine published in Wales. Its primary language is English, with brief excerpts of texts indicated in the original Welsh. History Founded in 1988 as successor to ''The Welsh Review'' (1939–1948), ''Dock Leav ...

'', ''

The Southern Review ''The Southern Review'' is a quarterly literary magazine that was established by Robert Penn Warren in 1935 at the behest of Charles W. Pipkin and funded by Huey Long as a part of his investment in Louisiana State University. It publishes ficti ...

'', and other places. He is associate professor of English at Anna Maria College in

Paxton, Massachusetts Paxton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,004 at the 2020 census. History Paxton was first settled by Europeans in 1749 and was officially incorporated in 1765. It was previously occupied by the ...

Works

* ''About Crows'' (2013) * ''Moon News'' (2021)

References

External links

Craig Blais on ''Poetry Daily'', June 23, 2013

"Fishbone Novena", October 2013, ''New Orleans Review''

Poem: "Sonnet (as an excuse to publish a story from when I was ten)"

Poem: "Oh Lovely Rock (A Sonnet with a Phone Number in It)"

Craig Blais's personal website

University of Arkansas Press Author Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blais, Craig 1978 births Living people Poets from Springfield, Massachusetts University of San Francisco alumni Anna Maria College faculty Wichita State University alumni Florida State University alumni Writers from Springfield, Massachusetts 21st-century American poets Holyoke Community College alumni