Heather McHugh, the Maxine Cushing Gray Distinguished Writer for 2014-15 speaks on The Art of Meaning. Reception with light refreshments to follow.

Admission is complimentary; space is limited.
RSVP required
----

A 2009 MacArthur Fellow, Heather McHugh has been a significant voice in American literary life for over four decades.

McHugh is the author of 8 volumes of poetry, numerous works of translation, and a book of essays on poetics. Such verbal playfulness and expressive range are evident, for example, in her translation of Euripedes’ Cyclops (2001), the only surviving satyr play in Greek drama, as well as her widely respected series of essays, Broken English: Poetry and Partiality (1993), in which she examines the relationship among language, culture, and poetry in works by authors ranging from Aeschylus to Dickinson to Rilke.

From 1999 to 2006, she was a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets. In 2001 she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

McHugh received a B.A. (1970) from Harvard University and an M.A. (1972) from the University of Denver. She was the Milliman Distinguished Writer-in-Residence and Pollock Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Washington from 1984 until her retirement in 2014.
Since her retirement she has worked full time to establish the non-profit CAREGIFTED, giving respite getaways to lifelong family caregivers of the severely disabled, and is collaborating on a documentary film emphasizing their gifts to society as a whole.

The Maxine Cushing Gray Award was established in 1985 at the Seattle Foundation by friends and admirers of the late Maxine Cushing Gray, who sought to honor her contributions to journalism and her tireless work to recognize and encourage excellence in writing. In 2004, the award fund was moved to the UW Libraries.

The Maxine Cushing Gray Jury, composed of award founders, R.M. Campbell and Judith Whetzel; along with UW Director of Creative Writing Andrew Feld, Romance Languages and Literature Librarian, Deb Raftus and University of Washington Press Editor Mary Ribesky recommended Heather McHugh as the 2014-2015 recipient.