Shane McCrae ’02 received the prestigious 2011 Whiting Writers’ Award that recognizes 10 young writers annually for extraordinary talent and promise

Davis, Laura

English

Name not available

Poetry in the Day-to-Day

DigitalCommons@Linfield

Linfield Magazine Volume 8 Number 3 Winter 2012 Article 7 Winter 2012 Poetry in the Day-to-Day Laura Davis Linfield College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/linfield_magazine Recommended Citation Davis, Laura (2012) "Poetry in the Day-to-Day," Linfield Magazine: Vol. 8 : No. 3 , Article 7. Available at: https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/linfield_magazine/vol8/iss3/7 This article is brought to you for free via open access, courtesy of DigitalCommons@Linfield. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@linfield.edu. It’s	Friday	morning	and	Shane	McCrae’s	18-month-old	daughter	has		a	101-degree	fever.	 Class	and	other	plans	for	the	day	will	wait	as	McCrae	patiently	comforts	his	toddler,	while	juggling	phone	calls	and	flipping	between	Sponge	Bob	Squarepants	and	Mickey	Mouse.	Someday,	this	hectic	morning	may	find	its	way	into	a	poem.		 McCrae	’02,	a	poet,	received	a	2011	Whiting	Writers’	Award.	This	prestigious	$50,000	award	recognizes	10	young	writers	annually	for	extraordinary	talent	and	promise.	It	is	one	of	the	most	coveted	prizes	in	the	nation,	and	evidence	that	day-to-day	life,	and	the	occasional	fever,	hasn’t	stopped	McCrae	from	making	a	splash	in	the	literary	world.		 “My	first	daughter	was	born	when		I	was	18,	so	I	had	to	figure	out	how	to	write	in	small	corners	of	the	day	rather	than	blocking	out	a	time,”	said	McCrae,	who	carries	a	small	notebook	and	pen	in	his	wallet.	“I	like	being	available	to	write	at		any	time.”	 McCrae’s	debut	collection	of	poetry,	Mule,	“has	the	rhythms	of	the	ocean,”	said	the	Whiting	selectors.			 McCrae	is	also	the	author	of	two	chap-books:	One Neither One	and In Canaan.	His	poems	have	appeared	in	The American Poetry Review, The Best American Poetry 2010, Fence, Esque	and	others.	In	addition	to	Linfield,	he	holds	degrees	from	the	University	of	Iowa	Writers’	Workshop		and	Harvard	Law	School.		 Now	a	doctoral	student	in	English	at	the	University	of	Iowa,	McCrae	was	in	class	when	he	saw	a	New	York	phone	number	come	in	on	his	phone.	He	later	learned	it	was	the	president	of	the	Whiting	Foundation	calling	to	tell	him	of	his	honor.	 “It	didn’t	seem	possible,”	said	McCrae,	who	immediately	called	his	wife,	also	a	writer	in	the	Ph.D.	program.	“I	don’t	have	much	of	a	history	of	winning	awards	so	I	didn’t	expect	it	at	all.	At	all.	It	was	a	really	big	shock.”	 McCrae	began	writing	poetry	at	age	15,	and	was	serious	from	the	start,	continuing	to	write	even	after	dropping	out	of	high	school.	With	some	community	college	classes	to	his	credit,	he	came	to	Linfield	at	24	for	the	creative	writing	major,	one	of	the	few	schools	in	the	region	to	offer	it	at	the	time.		 “It	was	the	only	thing	I	was	interested	in	doing,”	McCrae	said.	 At	Linfield,	McCrae	figured	out	how	to	become	a	writer.	He	set	his	sights	on	graduate	school,	and	ultimately,	teaching.	Even	small	details	from	his	Linfield	classes	Poet Shane McCrae ’02 received a 2011 Whiting Writers’ Award, along with $50,000, honoring young writers for extraordinary talent and promise.Photo by Benjamin Roberts/Iowa City Press-Citizen.Poetry in the day-to-dayReally, what the Whiting Foundation gives its winners is time – time to hold in mind one’s ambitions and projects without having to also juggle the multiple demands of a work life,” Runciman said. “Such an opportunity is rare.1 4  -  l i n f i e l d  m a g a z i n e  Winter 2012LC_Magazine_mag24.indd  14 2/20/12  1:14 PMhave	proved	memorable,	for	example	tips	for	strengthening	sentence	structure.		Using	state	of	being	verbs	such	as there is	and	there are,	rather	than	verbs	of	action,	weakens	the	writing.	“That’s	something	I’ve	never	forgotten	and	think	about	all	the	time,”	he	said.	 Lex	Runciman,	professor	of	English	and	a	former	Oregon	Book	Award	winner,	encouraged	McCrae	to	apply	to	the	University	of	Iowa	Writers’	Workshop	and	said	he	wasn’t	surprised	by	McCrae’s	honor.	According	to	Runciman,	McCrae	has	joined	select	company	in	winning	the	Whiting	award.	Former	Whiting	Fellows	have	gone	on	to	win	Pulitzer	Prizes	and	Guggenheim	Foundation	grants,	and	they’ve	been	published	by	some	of	the	most	prestigious	houses	in	the	U.S.		But	perhaps	the	best	thing	about	such	an	award	is	the	freedom	it	offers	recipients.			 “Really,	what	the	Whiting	Foundation	gives	its	winners	is	time	–	time	to	hold	in	mind	one’s	ambitions	and	projects	without	having	to	also	juggle	the	multiple	demands	of	a	work	life,”	Runciman	said.	“Such	an	opportunity	is	rare.”		 McCrae	weaves	themes	of	history,	politics	and	injustice	into	his	writing.	But	he	is	most	inspired	by	loved	ones	–	his	family	and	life.	He	finds	poetry	in	the		day-to-day	details	of	living,	fevers	and	all.–Laura DavisPoetry in the day-to-dayCrowsDear Lord-And-Spring     and spring the trees / Are raw with birds     are Lord greenhearts on trunks / Beating and Lordgiant hearts the spring isLord / That seasonand an animalall heart and bone / And nothing Lord and Lord You fillthe nothing in     / And spring is most like Youand black / Birds in the trees blackarteries / The color of     the thing beneath the skin / Is not the color of the skinthe color of the birds / In the treesis not the color of the leaves / And Lord the sound of their wingsis the sound of the leaves     / The living thingin the heart is not the heartThe crows in the heartScavenge in the heart     / Lord which was fulland welcomed them“Crows” originally appeared in Mule, published by Cleveland State University Poetry Center, 2011.Winter 2012  l i n f i e l d  m a g a z i n e  -  1 5LC_Magazine_mag24.indd  15 2/20/12  1:14 PM

https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1417&amp;context=linfield_magazine

Poetry in the Day-to-Day

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Name not available

DigitalCommons@Linfield