Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation

Grant Guidelines: The Amy Clampitt Fund

The Amy Clampitt Fund seeks to “benefit poetry and the literary arts by converting Amy Clampitt’s prior residence into a facility which would provide for a place to foster the study and promotion of poetry and/or a poet in residence” through 6-to-12 month residencies at the Amy Clampitt house near Lenox, Massachusetts.

Amy Clampitt was born and brought up in New Providence, Iowa, graduated from Grinnell College, and from that time on lived mainly in New York City. Her first full-length collection of poems, The Kingfisher, published in 1983, was followed in 1985 by What the Light Was Like, in 1987 by Archaic Figure, and in 1990 by Westward. A Silence Opens, her last book, appeared in 1994.

The recipient in 1982 of a Guggenheim Fellowship, and in 1984 of an Academy of American Poets Fellowship, she was made a MacArthur Prize Fellow in 1992. She purchased a small house in Lenox with part of the award and lived there briefly. She was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and was a Writer in Residence at the College of William and Mary, Visiting Writer at Amherst College, and Grace Hazard Conkling Visiting Writer at Smith College. Ms. Clampitt died in September 1994. Her husband, Harold Korn, died in March 2001. It is his estate that has established the Amy Clampitt Fund.

Eligibility

Applications are invited from poets or literary scholars of poetry with professional standing in their fields as well as emerging poets/scholars are eligible for residencies. The level of accomplishment of the work submitted will be considered as it is commensurate with the applicant’s age and/or experience. The Amy Clampitt Fund Residency Program encourages individuals from all backgrounds to apply. It does not discriminate against anyone on the basis of age, race, handicap, sex, religion, marital status, or national origin in its admission policies.

Awards

The Residency award consists of the use of the Amy Clampitt House free and clear for a six month or twelve month period beginning on February 1, 2013 and ending on January 19th, 2014. Grants for travel to and from the Clampitt House are available in exceptional circumstances. A monthly stipend of $2,500 is paid to the resident fellow. It is expected that the resident fellow reside in the house full-time and focusing exclusively on his/her creative work. This is an opportunity for a person who can take full advantage of unencumbered time with few distractions to bolster his/her writing.

The Amy Clampitt House is a charming, fully furnished, three bedroom, two-story house in the Cape style in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Partners and/or children may accompany the resident so long as the total number of individuals in the house does not exceed five. There is one phone line to the house and a DSL connection. Pets are not allowed. Smoking is not allowed inside the house. The house is not wheelchair-accessible and is located in a quiet, residential neighborhood, a 15-minute walk from the village of Lenox.

Lenox is in rural Western Massachusetts, bordering Northern Connecticut and Eastern New York. As public transportation is virtually non-existent, it is necessary that residents make arrangements for their own transportation for the duration of the residency.

The Clampitt Residency provides an ideal opportunity for poets and writers who are independent and resilient enough to live and work in a somewhat isolated and rural community. The program is administered by a community foundation, and as a result, the administrative support is minimal.

You may be interested in reading more about the program from previous residents on our website www.amyclampitt.org.

Notification

Applicants will be informed of Berkshire Taconic’s decision by December 31st.

Review Process

Acceptance is based on the evaluations of the Amy Clampitt Fund Board, using the review criteria listed below. The Board includes distinguished professionals in the field of poetry. The Board’s recommendations will be reviewed and approved by Berkshire Taconic’s Board of Directors. An interview in person or by telephone may be part of the review process. Applications and writing samples are initially reviewed without any identifying information. Over time the Board will award the residencies to a group of writers that is diverse: poets, poetry scholars whose writing style and stage of career may differ widely.

Review Criteria

The Board will review requests for residencies according to the following criteria:

Reporting Requirements

Resident fellows will be requested to submit to the Clampitt program a copy of any work developed during the residency, when/if it is published. Residents are asked to write a brief letter commenting on their overall experience during their stay.

Questions

If you have any questions please contact programs@berkshiretaconic.org.