Awards

2010    Poet Laureate of the Commonwealth of Virginia (two-year term)
2010    Director’s Visitor, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton
2010    The Ellen Anderson Award (first recipient) from the Poetry Society of Virginia
2009    Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship
2009    Finalist (with Marvin Bell and Mark Jarman) for The Poets’ Prize
2005    Fellow, Le Moulin à Nef, Auvillar, France
2000    Bradley Major Achievement (Lifetime) Award, Council for Wisconsin Writers
2000    Distinguished Alumnus Award, University of Mary Washington
2000    Dictionary of Literary Biography Award for the best volume of short stories (The Society of Friends: Stories) published in 1999
1994    Hawthornden Residency Fellowship, Scotland
1992    USIS Arts America Speaker Award (The Philippines)
1992, 1991    Wisconsin Arts Board New Work Awards
1991, 1988, 1984    Wisconsin Arts Board Project Grant
1991    First Prize for Book-length Fiction, Council for Wisconsin Writers (for My Life and Dr. Joyce Brothers)
1991    Wisconsin Notable Author
1990    VCCA Writers Exchange with Soviet Writers' Union
1990, 1987, 1983    PEN Syndicated Fiction Awards
1989    Hanes Poetry Prize given by the Fellowship of Southern Writers for a body of work, first recipient.
1989, 1979    Fellow, Yaddo
1986    Fellow, The Ragdale Foundation
1980    First Prize for Book-length Fiction, Council for Wisconsin Writers (for Augusta Played)
1979    National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship
1978    Fellow, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Also, 1985; 1986; December-January 1987/1988; 1989; December-February 1990/1991; 2003; 2004; 2007
1975    Allan Collins Fellowship, Bread Loaf
1974    Canaras Award for first novel, Sick and Full of Burning

Also, Poet Laureate of the Commonwealth of Virginia (2010-2012); Member, Electorate, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, NYC (five-year term beginning 2009); Associated Writing Programs Board of Directors (1990-93); Discipline Advisory Committee for Fulbright Awards (1991-94); Advisory Editor, Shenandoah (1988-92); Contributing Editor, The Hollins Critic (1996 - -); etc.