New Poetry Prize Celebrates a Creative Spirit

When Elmira College Board of Trustees Member John M. “Jack” Walsh, III, and his family recently suffered the loss of his daughter, Nancy Anne Walsh, they sought a meaningful way to honor her memory. Annie Walsh had a creative spirit, and poetry was an important outlet for her as an adult. Keeping this in mind, Walsh, whose family has a longstanding relationship with Elmira College, reached out to College officials to see if there was a way to carry on Annie Walsh’s memory in the voices of emerging poets at EC.

During a meeting with Dr. Patricia Ireland, Provost at EC; Dr. Annaliese Hoehling, Assistant Professor of English and Director of the Academic Writing Program; Dr. Mary Jo Mahoney, Associate Professor of English; and EC President Dr. Chuck Lindsay, Jack Walsh shared a little about his daughter. His reflections were later supplemented by other family members.

Annie Walsh was the granddaughter of Elmira College Graduate Celestia Frost Walsh, Class of 1930. Early on, as the youngest of five children, Annie developed a sharp understanding of human behavior and a heartfelt appreciation for the expressive potential of music, language, and especially poetry, publishing a poem in eighth grade. As a high school student, she surprised her fellow writers of the school’s literary magazine, Freeways, by exploring controversial topics such as women’s rights, reproductive rights, and free speech. Always a restless spirit who framed her life as consisting of a series of missions, she traveled extensively. She relocated from New Jersey to Arizona, then to California, and eventually to San Antonio, Texas.

Over the course of her 54 years, Annie Walsh knew many joys but also more than a few sorrows. She suffered through a variety of misfortunes that took a toll on her physically and emotionally, and yet she somehow managed to maintain a spirit, captured in the best of her poems, that was perceptive, subtle, illuminating, at times humorous, and somehow relentlessly hopeful. Annie Walsh was inspired by literary giants such as Walt Whitman, Sylvia Plath, Willa Cather, Annie Lamott, Annie Dillard, and Stephen King.

With these details in mind, the College officials developed the Nancy Anne Walsh Poetry Prize, a competitive, annual prize open to any matriculating undergraduate student at Elmira College. Thanks to a generous gift from the Walsh family, the Prize recipient will receive a $1,000 honorarium and publication in Callisophia, a student-run publication that mixes art, writing, and research.

The Walsh family intends for this award “to honor her memory and to recognize excellence in the creation of original poetry, as demonstrated through the submitted work of an Elmira College student.”

The Callisophia Club members will announce the new award at an upcoming launch event for the 2025 edition of Callisophia, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 9, in the Lobby of the Gannett-Tripp Library.

To compete for the Prize, students can submit up to two poems by February 1. Submissions will be judged blind by a panel of EC’s English faculty members, invited alumni, and guest writers. To help students prepare their poetry for submissions, the English Department will offer a poetry writing course each Fall term and a workshop in poetry writing and revision.

“Elmira College has a long history in creative writing and poetry. Students at EC began Callisophia in the 1850s, and it continues to capture their artistry today,” shared Ireland. “Our students are eager for more creative outlets and, in the past couple of years, they have organized poetry readings. We’re grateful to the Walsh family for giving them this additional opportunity to foster their creativity while also cherishing Annie’s memory.”

The Prize winner and any honorable mentions will be announced each year at the College’s Annual Academic Honors and Student Recognition Celebration held in March. Students can only win the prize once.

EC students will have their first opportunity to compete for the Prize this fall. For the Walsh family, it will serve as an annual tribute to Annie Walsh’s spirit and the unique way poetry can continue to give her life meaning.