Creative Writing Professor Wins Literary Fellowship

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The William F. Laman Public Library System announced that Davis McCombs, associate professor of English and director of the programs in creative writing and translation in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, has been named the recipient of the 2013 Laman Library Writers Fellowship.

The fellowship includes a grant of $10,000 and is awarded each year to an Arkansas author to assist in the writing and publishing process. McCombs was honored at a reception and check presentation ceremony at Laman Library in North Little Rock earlier this month.

"This fellowship means a great deal to me," said McCombs. "As a writer and, of course, a reader, libraries have been an important part of my life. To be recognized by the Laman Library System, which does so much for readers in central Arkansas, is an honor."

The fellowship was founded in 2010 to promote Laman Library’s goal of encouraging the creation of literature “by Arkansans, for Arkansans.” Recipients are all previously published Arkansas authors and are selected based on the creative excellence of their work by a group of independent literary professionals. Previous recipients of the fellowship include Grif Stockley, Kevin Brockmeier and Mara Leveritt.

"Davis is a great example of the fact that the work we do here at the University of Arkansas has meaning throughout the state,” said Dorothy Stephens, professor of English and chair of the department. “Readers across the state and, indeed, across the nation have been entertained, enlightened, and enriched by his poetry, and we're proud that he's being recognized as a preeminent Arkansas writer."

“Awards like the Laman Library Fellowship are so important to faculty members,” said Robin Roberts, dean of Fulbright College. “These honors recognize the excellent work of the recipient and exhibit the talent we have right here in Arkansas.”

McCombs grew up in Kentucky and attended Harvard University, the University of Virginia and Stanford University.

His first book, Ultima Thule (Yale, 2000), was the winner of the 1999 Yale Series of Younger Poets and called the “finest Yale poets selection in years” by Publishers Weekly. It was also named one of the five finalists for the National Book Critics Circle Award. His second book, Dismal Rock (Tupelo, 2007), was awarded the Dorset Prize, the Eric Hoffer Award and the Kentucky Literary Award.

McCombs’ work has appeared in The Best American Poetry, The Missouri Review, the American Poetry Review and many other magazines and journals. He has also received fellowships from the Ruth Lilly Poetry Foundation, the Kentucky Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.