The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 79, No. 2, Ed. 1 Friday, August 23, 1991 Page: 5 of 16
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THE RICE THRESHER FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 1991 5
Wood wins poetry award
by Eric Hahn
Rice English professor and Lov-
ett College master Susan Wood was
recently awarded the LaMont Prize
by the Academy of American Poets
for her book of poetry entitled Campo
Santo. The prize is given for the best
"second book" published by an
American poet; this year's competi-
tion included 23 other manuscripts.
"I knew I had been nominated,
and that my publisher had sent a
copy of the manuscript in to be
judged, but it was still a great feeling
to win. It's especially good to win the
LaMont Prize in my situation, too.
My first book, Bazaar, was pub-
lished in 1981. It's a good feeling to
be able to publish another book ten
years laterand have itwin the LaMont
Prize. It's an indication that I've 'still
got it,'" said Wood.
Campo Santo is the Spanish
translation of "holy field," or cem-
etery. It is taken from the title of one
ofWood's favorite poems in the book.
That particular poem seemed to
be kind of what the whole book is
about. For the most part, it's about
surviving grief. The epigraph is a
quote from William Faulkner: 'Be-
tween grief and nothing, I will take
grief."' Another one of her favorite
poems in the book, "Hollow," is a
more political piece about growing
up in a small Southern town.
"It's really hard to pick a favorite,
though," said Wood. "It's like having
to pick a favorite from your children."
Although she's quite happy to
have won, Wood still keeps a realis-
tic, down-to-earth view of her victory.
She describes the judging process as
"iffy."
"It all depends on the way the
judges feel," said Wood. "The judges
could be having a bad day or a good
day. Even what they had for break-
fast could affect their mood and their
judging. Ifyouwin.you may not have
been the best. If you lose, it may not
be because your manuscript wasn't
good enough."
The victory is indeed hers,
though, and that makes the future
look good. "There's a cash prize of
$1,000, but there's more," said Wood.
"Nowthat I'vewon, my bookwillget
reviewed more, and reviewed more
thorougly. There will be more expo-
sure, so more copies will be bought,
which means more people will read
it I'll also probably be asked to do
more readings than I would have if I
hadn't won."
The perks don't stop there,
though. The Academy of American
Poets has a policy of purchasing
2,000 copies of the winning book
every year to distribute to Academy
members.
"Originally, my publisher wasn't
planning to print many more than
2,000 copies. Now because of the
award, they've already got that many
sold."
Another advantage for Wood
comes from the time at which she
won the award.
"My publishers were holding my
book to see if I won or not. Now that
I have, when my book goes to press
they can put something on the cover
about it winning the LaMont Prize."
This decision is another indica-
tion of the favorable relationship be-
tween Wood and her publisher, LSU
Press.
"They're great," said Wood.
"They've been very supportive. I've
never met them, but I've talked to
them over the phone and they're all
very nice. LSU is very good with
publishing poetry."
Ask yourself an important
question:
Is it safe?
With an escalating violent crime rate in
our city, are dimly lit, out-of-the-way auto-
matic teller machines really all that safe?
Unattended teller machines present excel-
lent opportunities for criminals to hide,
confident in the knowledge that anyone
using an ATM is almost certainly going to
leave it with cash. Often lots of cash.
Many people don't realize that there is a
safe, convenient ATM right here in the
middle of the Rice campus. It is located in
the Rice Memorial Center, right between
the Rice Campus Store and Sammy's, and
it accepts all major credit and bank cards.
So there's no need to be unsafe when
getting money.
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Zitterkopf, Ann & Howe, Harlan. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 79, No. 2, Ed. 1 Friday, August 23, 1991, newspaper, August 23, 1991; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245787/m1/5/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.