Georgia-born poet wins ‘Genius’ grant

The poet and translator A.E. Stallings is among 22 recipients named by the MacArthur Foundation for their annual fellowship, better known as the ‘Genius’ grant. Stallings was born in Decatur, GA and studied at the University of Georgia as an undergrad, though she’s lived in Greece since 1999. That’s a fitting place for Stallings, whose work, according to the MacArthur Foundation, “brings a wide knowledge of Greco-Roman literature, art, and mythology to bear on her imaginative explorations of contemporary circumstances and concerns.” There’s even a bit of poetic resonance in the fact that, as Poetry Magazine notes, she studied the classics in Athens, GA before emigrating to Athens, Greece.

Stallings has been associated, at times, with New Formalist poetry. That influence can undoubtably be seen in her 1996 sonnet “A Lament for the Dead Pets of Our Childhood,” which ends with this devastating stanza:

• POETRY MAGAZINE

You can peruse a rather large archive of Stallings work at the Poetry Foundation.