Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture

M.F.A. Student Wins Academy’s ‘Most Promising Young Poet’ Award

Wednesday, September 3, 2014, By Rob Enslin
Share
AwardsStudents

Wendy Chen, a University Fellow in Syracuse’s M.F.A. Program in Creative Writing, is the winner of the Academy of American Poets’ inaugural Aliki Perroti and Seth Frank Most Promising Young Poet Award. Chen won the award for her poem “They Sail Across the Mirrored Sea.”

Wendy Chen

Wendy Chen

The American Poets Prizes are among the most valuable poetry prizes in the United States.

“We are delighted that Wendy is the inaugural recipient of this prestigious award from such a wonderful organization. Her poem is a fine example of the quality of work the students in our program produce,” says poet Christopher Kennedy G’88, associate professor and director of Syracuse’s creative writing program. “It is an honor to be associated with such a talented young poet and with the academy.”

Syracuse’s top-ranked M.F.A. program is part of the Department of English, based in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Chen, 22, came to Syracuse from Wellesley College in Massachusetts, where she earned a dual bachelor’s degree (with honors) in English and studio art, with a concentration in creative writing.

At Wellesley, Chen wrote for the student newspaper and championed the role of women in leadership and new media, leading to an internship at the Women in the World Summit at New York’s Lincoln Center.

“Every word placed down is a conscious choice and carries specific connotations and emotional baggage with it,” Chen has been quoted as saying. “I’ve learned to be more aware of the inherent emotions and attitudes behind even the most commonplace words.”

Of Chen’s prize-winning poem, Academy judge Alberto Ríos has this to say: “This is poetry of genuine maturity, whose imagery and circumstance are constructed from patience, with a particularly demonstrable talent for turning the slowness of this story’s time into vibrant observation and compelling connection—in that way, reaching from the depths of the poem out to us who are reading it.”

Established in 2013, the Most Promising Young Poet Award recognizes a student poet, 23 years old or younger, with a cash prize of $1,000. The award is open to winners of the current year’s University & College Poetry Prizes, also given by the Academy. Submissions are judged by one of the past or current members of the Academy’s Board of Chancellors.

 

  • Author

Rob Enslin

  • Recent
  • Student’s Mobile Upcycled Clothing Business Turns Trash Into Treasures
    Friday, August 22, 2025, By Diane Stirling
  • Q&A for “Will Work for Food,” a new book exploring labor and the food chain
    Friday, August 22, 2025, By Ellen Mbuqe
  • Chaz Barracks Fuses Art, Scholarship and Community in Summer Residency
    Thursday, August 21, 2025, By News Staff
  • Welcome Week 2025: What You Need to Know
    Tuesday, August 19, 2025, By Kathleen Haley
  • How Otto the Orange Spent Their Summer Vacation (Video)
    Tuesday, August 19, 2025, By News Staff

More In Arts & Culture

Syracuse Stage Announces Auditions for 2025-26 Theatre for the Very Young Production ‘Tiny Martians, Big Emotions’

Syracuse Stage is seeking non-equity actors to audition for the Theatre for the Very Young production of “Tiny Martians, Big Emotions,” conceived and directed by Kate Laissle. The show is a touring educational program as part of the company’s 2025-26…

Art Museum Launches Fall 2025 Season With Dynamic, Interdisciplinary Exhibitions

The Syracuse University Art Museum kicks off its fall season on Aug. 26 with four new exhibitions that reflect the museum’s mission to foster diverse and inclusive perspectives and unite students across disciplines with the local and global community. From…

How Artists Are Embracing Artificial Intelligence to Create Works of Art

Artists have always embraced new technologies to push the boundaries of their creations—balancing imagination and authenticity with innovation. Artificial intelligence (AI) is no different, says Rebecca Xu, professor of computer art and animation in the Department of Film and Media…

Art Museum Faculty Fellows Leverage Collections to Enhance Teaching

Four faculty members have been named Syracuse University Art Museum Faculty Fellows for the 2025-26 academic year. The fellows program, now in its fourth year, supports innovative curriculum development and the fuller integration of the museum’s collection in University instruction….

Syracuse Stage Announces Cast and Production Team of Musical ‘The Hello Girls’

Syracuse Stage announced an exciting new cast and creative team for “The Hello Girls,” with music and lyrics by Peter Mills and book by Peter Mills and Cara Reichel. Featuring fresh orchestrations, new staging and reworked material, this new production…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.