EUGENE–Award-winning poet Dorianne Laux, an associate professor in the University of Oregon’s Program in Creative Writing, will be a featured reader on Thursday, March 15, at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

Laux, who recently published her third volume of poems, "Smoke," was invited to participate in the prestigious reading by U.S. Poet Laureate Stanley Kunitz.

The reading comes just a month after Laux was notified that she had been awarded a second National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, which includes a $20,000 cash prize. Laux was the only Oregon recipient of the NEA award in the current round of funding. Other Pacific Northwest poets selected from the 1,230 applications received by the arts endowment include Christopher Howell of Spokane, Wash., and Nance Van Winckel of Cheney, Wash.

Members of the NEA’s Literature Fellowships panel judged anonymously the manuscripts submitted for the fellowships. This year’s panelists included Agha Shahid Ali, Victor Hernandez Cruz, Jorie Graham, David Shirley, Jane Shore, Quincy Troupe, John Koethe, Jane Miller and Stanley Plumly.

"This is a great honor and well-deserved recognition for one of our country’s finest poets," said Ehud Havazelet, director of the UO Program in Creative Writing.

In addition to her latest collection, Laux–who joined the UO Creative Writing Program nearly seven years ago–is the author of of "Awake" and "What We Carry," which is a finalist for the Book Critics Circle Award. She also is co-author with Kim Addonizio and Laurie Duesing of "Three West Coast Women" and co-author with Addonizio. of "The Poet’s Companion: A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry."

Laux’ poetry has appeared in many prestigious journals and magazines, including the "New England Review," "The American Poetry Review," "The Southern Review" and "The Kenyon Review." One of her poems was selected for "Best American Poetry" in 1999.

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