The English Department is proud to announce that Zachariah McVicker and Stephen Rodriguez, two of its undergraduates, have been accepted into the 2012 Bucknell Seminar for Young Poets.  Applicants compete for one of ten places in the Seminar, all of which come with fellowships which cover tuition, and living expenses.

Stephen and Zack were interviewed in Spring 2012 by Website Feature Intern Laurel Carothers.

Stephen: I'm very honored to have been accepted.  I put a lot of time and energy into developing myself as a poet, so there's a great sense of fulfillment that comes with seeing my work selected by people who are in a position to judge it impartially.

Zach: I feel extremely lucky and incredibly excited, but more than anything thankful that I've had the chance to work with Henri Cole, Andrew Hudgins and Kathy Fagan. ... Seeing what I've written before and after working with them is more of a testament to that than I could ever articulate.

Read the full text of the interviews here.

Read Zach's poems "Fossil" and "Pale Eye," and Stephen's sonnet "Ukelele Ike."

(Photograph courtesy of Chase Ledin)

June 2012 marks the 27th annual seminar, hosted by Bucknell University in Lewisville, PA. The Seminar is a three week program which consists of workshops hosted by staff and visiting poets. The staff and visiting poets also host lectures and discussions, present readings of their own work, and are available for individual conferences.

Staff poets for the 2012 Seminar are Seminar Director G.C. Waldrep, Associate Director Deirdre O'Connor, and Stadler Fellows Jamaal May and Diana Parkalong with visiting poets, Rick Barot and Brigit Pegeen Kelly.

For more information on the 2012 Seminar, it’s staff and visiting poets, please visit The Bucknell Web site.