UB Poet Awarded $369,000 By MacArthur Foundation

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Irving Feldman, distinguished professor of English at the State University of New York at Buffalo and a poet of national distinction, is the recipient of a $369,000 fellowship from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, a foundation spokesperson said today (Tuesday, June 16).

Feldman's fellowship was one of 33 presented by the foundation this year to Americans working in fields ranging from community service to classical studies. Popularly known as a MacArthur "genius award," the fellowships carry stipends ranging from $150,000 to $375,000 over five years, or $30,000 to $75,000 per year, depending upon the age of the recipient. Fellows may use the awards any way they wish and are not bound by any reporting requirements or restrictions.

Feldman, a member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters, is the author of eight books of poetry, including "All of Us Here," named by the New York Times Book Review as one of the most notable publications of 1986 and nominated for the 1987 National Book Critics' Circle Award. Two of his other collections, "The Pripet Marshes" (1965) and "Leaping Clear" (1976), were nominated for the National Book Award. His poetry has appeared in more than 300 separate publications in anthologies, literary journals and periodicals.

Feldman is a member of the PEN American Center and in 1986 was the 50th recipient of the $10,000 Academy of Poets Fellowship. He is a former fellow of the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Ingram Merrill Foundation. In 1983, he received the Emily Clark Balch Prize for Poetry and has read and lectured widely at universities throughout the United States.

A graduate of City College of New York, Feldman holds a master's degree from Columbia University and since 1964 has been a member of the faculty of the University at Buffalo where he teaches creative writing and modern British and American poetry, drama and fiction.

The MacArthur fellowships are intended to honor creative persons everywhere by identifying and rewarding highly talented men and women working in a wide range of fields, according to Ken Hope, director of the MacArthur Fellows Program. Individuals cannot apply for a MacArthur fellowship, but must be proposed to the foundation by a group of 100 anonymous nominators in many fields throughout the country who serve in that capacity for one year.

This year's MacArthur Foundation fellowships were awarded to 17 women and 16 men working in such fields as American history, classics, community affairs, poetry, photography, journalism, reproductive rights, printmaking, mathematics, computer science, jazz, education and women's studies. A total of 383 MacArthur fellows have been named since the program began in 1981. Of these, 161 currently are receiving fellowship support.

The MacArthur Foundation, established by John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur in 1978, is one of the largest private philanthropic foundations in the United States with assets of more than $3 billion and annual grants of more than $140 million.