MFA in Writing Faculty Member Ellen Bass Named an Academy of American Poets Chancellor

By 
Joe Lang

Pacific University Master of Fine Arts in Writing faculty member Ellen Bass has been named a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets.

Bass is among four 2017 recipients, which also include former MFA in Writing faculty member David St. John.

An Academy of American Poets Chancellor is an honorary position that has been held by some of the most distinguished poets in the United States. As a new member of the Board of Chancellors, Bass will consult with the organization on matters of artistic programming, serve as judges for the organization’s largest prizes for poets and act as ambassadors of poetry in the world at large.

A resident of Santa Cruz, Calif. Bass is the recipient of a fellowship from the California Arts Council, the Lambda Literary Award for Poetry, the Pablo Neruda Prize for Poetry, and two Pushcart Prizes. 

Bass and other Pacific MFA in Writing faculty members are working with students in Seaside this week during the program's annual 10-day winter residency. In April, she will lead a workshop for poets at the MFA in Writing office in downtown Portland.
 
The Academy of American Poets is the nation’s largest membership-based nonprofit organization championing poets and poetry. 
Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017