Idaho State University Professor Bethany Schultz Hurst receives 2013 Robert Dana-Anhinga Prize for Poetry

Idaho State University assistant professor of English, Bethany Schultz Hurst, recently won the 2013 Robert Dana-Anhinga Prize for Poetry for her collection, “Miss Lost Nation.”

This is the 30th year that the Anhinga Prize for Poetry has been awarded for a manuscript of original poetry in English. In addition to having her winning manuscript published by Anhinga Press, Schultz-Hurst will tour Florida institutions of higher learning to present poetry readings.

Anhinga Press publishes only three to four poetry volumes per year. The Robert Dana-Anhinga Prize volumes are its signature series. Receiving on average 600 entries per year from around the world, the Robert Dana-Anhinga Prize for Poetry is judged by nationally-recognized poets. According to the Press, “A panel of Anhinga editors selects a half-dozen or more finalists; this batch of manuscripts is then turned over to a highly respected final judge for selection of the winner.” This year’s judge, Richard Blanco, is best known for his 2012 presidential inaugural poem “One Today.”

“I’m thrilled to have won the award and grateful to judge Richard Blanco for selecting my work,” said Schultz-Hurst. “I’m looking forward to working with Anhinga on the collection; it will be exciting to see the manuscript transform into a book.”

Schultz-Hurst was hired as an assistant professor of English in 2012 after having served as a lecturer in English since 2003. Schultz Hurst’s poems have appeared in “Cimarron Review,” “Crab Orchard Review,” “The Gettysburg Review,” “River Styx,” “Sixth Finch” and other journals. Her manuscript “Miss Lost Nation” has been a finalist in numerous poetry prizes, including the Yale Series of Younger Poets and the National Poetry Series. Schultz-Hurst holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from Eastern Washington University. In 2008 she was recognized with Idaho State University’s Distinguished Teacher Award.

The Anhinga Prize for Poetry, renamed Robert Dana-Anhinga Prize for Poetry in 2010, was first awarded in 1983. Past judges have included William Stafford, Denise Levertov, Donald Hall, and Joy Harjo. Each year the prize sees an increase in entrants, raising the stature of the award. The series is regularly reviewed in journals such as the “Georgia Review,” “Choice” and “The Bloomsbury Review.”

For more information about the Robert Dana-Anhinga Prize for Poetry visit www.anhinga.org.

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