Erin Glass Wins Ruby Treadway Award

by Shannon Smith

Erin Glass, Senior BU English major, recently won the Ruby P. Treadway Award for her outstanding writing portfolio. Within the portfolio were pieces of poetry, literary theory, and fiction.

About her portfolio, Erin says, “The poetry section and the literary theory essays were both challenging and rewarding. The pieces of fiction seemed more like fictive narratives than fiction. They were extremely humbling--I was actually embarrassed at how nonsensical they were. I wasn't even sure if I would receive full credit for them.”

Erin composed the portfolio for Dr. Alexander’s creative writing class. Dr. Alexander gave many exercises where Erin was able to create many new works and even usea the opportunity to revise and to try different verse forms. She has been writing poetry all of her life, but she has never before attempted to write fiction or short stories. “The exercises gave me a new respect for fiction and short story writers—and a profound admiration for their method and their craft.”

Erin’s inspiration came from many different areas. Dr. Alexander was extremely encouraging to her and gave Erin a lot of confidence in her poetic voice. Her inspiration also stemmed from her family and her “immense gratitude to be first and foremost a reader and, to a lesser degree, a writer of this otherworldly thing called poetry.”

Erin was nominated for the award by Dr. Alexander and was shocked and delighted to have won. “Recently I had sent some poems to literary journals for the first time and received many rejections and a few acceptance letters. I was feeling pretty discouraged. I respect Dr. Alexander so much and hold her in the highest regard. So for me to know that she thinks my work is worthy is truly priceless. I also felt privileged to be a part of the Belmont community. It was such a lovely ceremony and such a generous award.”

After Erin graduates, she hopes to enroll in the MFA poetry program at Bennington College in Bennington, Vermont. Congratulations, Erin, and good luck!

Shannon Smith is a Junior BU English Major.