Two UW professors win MacArthur Fellowships

Linda Bierds

Two UW English professors—Charles Johnson and Linda Bierds—are among the 29 new MacArthur Fellows, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced Tuesday, bringing the number of active UW faculty who have received the award to eight. Johnson and Bierds teach in the Creative Writing Program.

Bierds, a poet, earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the UW and worked here for 10 years as an Information Specialist before joining the faculty as a full-time lecturer in 1991. She became an associate professor in 1996 and is currently the director of the UW Creative Writing Program.

The foundation noted Bierds for her attention to historical detail and for narratives of lyric description that set her apart from the prevailing contemporary styles of confessional and linguistic poetry. Her work appears regularly in The New Yorker.

“Her verse is clear, efficient, and elegant,” the foundation noted in announcing the award.

In Bierds’ most recent volume of poetry, The Profile Makers, she tells the story of a Civil-War family photo session. The early state of the art of photography and the disheveled state of the union are brought together through her use of alliteration and rhythm. The volume recently won a PEN/West prize for poetry. Her other volumes of poetry include Flights of the Harvest-Mare (1985), The Stillness, the Dancing (1988), Heart and Perimeter (1991), The Ghost Trio (1994).

Charles Johnson

Charles Johnson, a novelist, short-story writer, essayist, cartoonist, and screenwriter, has been at the UW for 22 years. His works address fundamental philosophical questions and transcend the boundaries of class, ethnicity, and culture that separate us.

“The promise of American society looms large in Johnson’s novels, as does the concept that we are all dependent on each other for survival,” the MacArthur Foundation noted.

Johnson is the S. Wilson and Grace M. Pollock Endowed Professor of Creative Writing and recipient of the 1990 National Book Award for Middle Passage, which has been translated into French, Japanese, Dutch and Greek. Tri-Star Pictures bought the movie rights in 1992.

This year he published Dreamer, a novel about Martin Luther King.

Among his other novels are Faith and the Good Thing (1974) and Ox-herding Tale (1982). He also has published a volume of short stories, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (1986); a book-length essay, Being and Race: Black Writing Since 1970 (1985); and over 20 screen plays, including Charlie Smith and the Fritter Tree (1978) and Booker (1985). Johnson was co-editor of the anthology Black Men Speaking (1997). He received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Southern Illinois University.

“The genius awards provide a wonderful recognition of the literary achievements of Linda Bierds and Charles Johnson,” said UW President Richard L. McCormick. “It is quite amazing that of only 29 MacArthur Fellowships given nationally, two were awarded to members of our Creative Writing faculty.”

There are now three MacArthur fellows in the UW English Department. Richard Kenney, also a poet and member of the Creative Writing faculty, received a MacArthur in 1987.

MacArthur Fellowships, unrestricted awards that recipients are free to use as they please, range from $220,000 to $375,000 over five years, depending on the age of the recipient. Bierds, 53, will receive $320,000; Johnson, 50, $305,000. The foundation does not require or expect any specific products or reports. Individuals are nominated anonymously and selected by the foundation’s Board of Directors.

“The creative person is at the heart of a society’s capacity to improve the human condition,” said Adele Simmons, MacArthur Foundation president. “By supporting these highly talented individuals working in a wide range of fields, the Foundation means to honor creative persons everywhere.” ¶