The Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Foundation has recognized Geffrey Davis, assistant professor of creative writing, as a nominee for its prestigious 2015 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award in poetry. Honored for his first book — a collection of poems titled Revising the Storm — Davis joins an elite group of nominees, including 2014 National Book Award finalist Claudia Rankine and Pulitzer Prize-winner Gregory Pardlo.

"We're tremendously proud of Geffrey, and it's no surprise that he's being recognized so early in his career," said Davis McCombs, director of the U of A Program in Creative Writing and Translation. "Geffrey's book is a tour de force that speaks intimately of one man's life but also about what it means to be a father and a son, a husband and a writer."

According to a press release from the foundation, the Hurston/Wright Legacy Awards annually honor published works of fiction, nonfiction and poetry by black writers. Recognized as a premier honor from the black writing community to its peers, the Legacy Awards each year recognize members of the national and international black writing community.

Selected by judges Chris Abani, Monica Hand and Allison Joseph, the 2015 nominees in poetry are: Geffrey Davis, Brian Gilmore, Gregory Pardlo, Willie Perdomo, Claudia Rankine and Roger Reeves. Two finalists and a winner will be announced at the foundation's annual awards ceremony, October 23, in Washington, D.C.

Davis joined the Program in Creative Writing and Translation in 2014. His poems have appeared in journals nationwide and won numerous awards, including the Leonard Steinberg Memorial Prize from the Academy of American Poets.

Founded in 1966, the U of A Program in Creative Writing and Translation offers Master of Fine Arts degrees in poetry, fiction, and literary translation. Poets & Writers magazine consistently ranks the program in the top 40 MFA programs among hundreds nationwide, and in 2007 The Atlantic Monthly named it one of the top five most innovative creative writing programs in the nation.