Geoffrey J. Hayward '04, of Saranac Lake, NY, is the winner of the 2002 Academy
of American Poets University and College Prize from St. Lawrence.
Entries this year were judged by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Stephen Dunn, this year's
Sandra M. Nelson Memorial
visiting poet. Honorable mentions went to Jennifer Williamson '02, Windsor, VT; and
Amanda Morrison '03, Ogdensburg, NY.
A $100 prize is offered for the best poem submitted at each participating school.
Founded in 1955 with 10 schools, the University and College Poetry Prize Program
now includes more than 175 prizes across the country. Many prominent American poets
won their first recognition with an Academy College Prize, including Sylvia Plath,
Joy Harjo and Mark Strand.
Whenever possible, the Academy also publishes selections of prize-winning poems. The
eighth such volume, New Voices: University and College Poetry Prizes 1989-1998,
has just been released. The prizes are funded by alumni interested in encouraging
young writers, by the colleges and universities themselves, or through the gifts of
donors to the Academy.
Hayward is an English (writing) major.