Colleges with strong writing programs often provide some financial assistance specifically for creative writing and poetry. For example, the University of Michigan provides the Hopwood Fellowships, which include two scholarships open to students of poetry: the Roy W. Cowden Memorial Fellowship, open to all undergraduates, and the Arthur Miller Award, open to undergraduates with sophomore and junior standing. The University of North Carolina–Wilmington awards the Scott Robertson Scholarship to incoming, Pitt County freshmen interested in creative writing.
Often, even smaller colleges and universities offer writing awards through the English department. Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, Georgia, for instance, awards small cash prizes to winners of the Languages, Literature, and Philosophy’s Writing Showcase, and their Wesleyan Scholarship funds study at the Wesleyan Writers’ Conference in Middletown, Connecticut.
The Alliance for Young Artists and Writers sponsors the National Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, which grant creative writing scholarships to students entering college. Young poets may submit poems in traditional forms, experimental or free verse. General writing submissions are eligible for national scholarship awards, but there is a small fee to apply. For details, visit the website at artandwriting.org.
The Poetry Foundation awards five Ruth Lily Poetry Fellowships each year to young poets between 21 and 31 years of age. The Ruth Lily Poetry Fellowship is one of the most prestigious in the nation for young poets, and winners are commonly poets whose work has been published in poetry magazines and journals. As of 2010, recipients receive $15,000. Visit the Poetry Foundation's website: poetryfoundation.org.
Stanford University awards five Wallace Stegner Fellowships in poetry each year as well as five in fiction. Applicants are chosen based on talent alone—age, educational degree and writing “style” is irrelevant. As of 2010 the Stegner includes a yearly stipend of $26,000, health insurance and tuition. Fellows are required to participate in a weekly, three-hour workshop with faculty. Go to stanford.edu to apply.
Awarded annually, the Amy Lowell Poetry Travelling Scholarship provides US-born poets with approximately $50,000 to study and write abroad for one year. Recipients of the award must agree to stipulations outlined in Lowell’s will. Past winners typically have been published poets. For more information, visit amylowell.org.
Each June, Bucknell University in Pennsylvania hosts the three-week Bucknell Seminar for Younger Poets. The school selects 10 applicants to the seminar to receive fellowships, which include tuition, on-campus housing and meals. While scholarships and fellowships to seminars and conferences may not curb costs of college tuition, these awards can help you to fine tune your verse, learn from more experienced poets and network—an invaluable skill in the small market of poetry. Visit Bucknell's website bucknell.edu.
Look to your local arts council for scholarships as well. While many of the fellowships seek out established poets and writers, some funds are available for developing artists. The Kentucky Arts Council, for example, allocates $1,000 for Emerging Artist Awards as part of the Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship program. Contact the Kentucky Arts Council at artscouncil.ky.gov. Other local councils may do the same.