Creative Writing M.F.A. Student Awarded Prestigious Grant for Medieval Studies Project

The U of A Program in Creative Writing and Translation in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences is excited to announce that Lizzie Fox, a third-year M.F.A. student in literary translation, has been named the winner of a Centennial Award from the Medieval Academy of America for her project, “The Plays of Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim: Bringing the Medieval to Arkansas.” 

Centennial Grants, the academy’s website explains, are awards “up to $5,000 each, supporting the planning and implementation of local events and projects celebrating and promoting medieval studies in education and the arts in North America.”

M.F.A. program director Toni Jensen lauded Fox, noting, “This Centennial Award from the Medieval Academy of America is one of only eight given to scholars across the country. Its interdisciplinary nature is something we celebrate in the M.F.A. Program in Creative Writing and Translation, and we’re so proud of Lizzie for this enormous achievement.”

Fox will hold a public reading of her translations of two plays by the 10th century playwright Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim. The reading will take place in spring 2025 and will be cast by local actors and directed by New York-based director Molly Rose Clifford. Fox and Clifford previously collaborated in their 2022 Off-Broadway production of Hrotsvitha’s play The Martyrdom. 

Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim (c. 935-1000 CE) is the first-known female playwright in the Western tradition. She was a Saxon canoness and wrote in Latin. Despite her standing in theater history, Hrotsvitha is often forgotten, and her plays are rarely produced. As part of her work with the Medieval Academy of America, Fox hopes to bring Hrotsvitha’s importance to light and encourage future productions of her plays.

About the Program in Creative Writing and Translation: Founded in 1966, the University of Arkansas Program in Creative Writing and Translation in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences consistently ranks in the top 40 M.F.A. programs nationwide, according to Poets & Writers magazine. The Atlantic Monthly named the U of A among the “Top Five Most Innovative” M.F.A. programs in the nation. Noteworthy graduates include Barry Hannah, C.D. Wright, Lucinda Roy and Nic Pizzolatto.

This story also appeared in the University of Arkansas News publication.