Summer Writing Program Scholarships

Kevin Killian Memorial SWP Scholarship

Noncredit tuition scholarships will be awarded in memory of Kevin Killian. Students do not need to complete a Financial Aid Application (FAFSA or International Aid Application) to be considered. Beloved of many Kevin Killian was known for personal generosity, a politics of friendship, affinity, & welcome, as well as being a supremely gifted writer moving among—and enlivening—a host of genres such as novels, poems, poet’s theater, internet reviews and more. The scholarships are intended to support writers whose work participates in the Lineage of Bay Area writers, poets, and playwrights.

Zora Neale Hurston Scholarship

The Zora Neale Hurston scholarship is awarded to selected students who’s writing is influenced by the work of Zora Neale Hurston, depicting breadth of experience and exceptional literary merit. The award amount covers full tuition and housing costs for a shared room (for out-of-state recipients) for one week of the Summer Writing Program (credit or noncredit). A total of three recipients, with one-week scholarships will be awarded. Awards are based on exceptional literary merit and promise, as well as financial need.

The Institute of American Indian Arts Award

The Institute of American Indian Arts Award is given annually to one current undergraduate student enrolled at the Institute of American Indian Arts, who will be attending the Summer Writing Program. The award covers full undergraduate tuition for the three weeks of the SWP and includes housing at the shared room rate.

Leslie Scalapino Scholarship

The Leslie Scalapino Award will be offered each year to one MFA Creative Writing and Poetics or MFA Creative Writing student attending the Summer Writing Program who has a body of work in the field of experimental postmodern women’s poetry and poetics. Applicants must demonstrate financial need, be a United States citizen or permanent resident of the United States, and have a GPA of 3.5 or higher.Students who wish to be considered for the scholarship should submit the following along with their application:

1. Personal letter (500–700 words) describing: (a)  your contributions and activities within the Jack Kerouac School, Naropa University, and/or the local/national artistic community: recent accomplishments (b) Current projects or publications of your work. (c) Your interest in experimental postmodern women’s poetry and poetics, including but not limited to Leslie Scalapino.
2. A writing sample of 5 to 10 pages of your current work

SWP Scholarship in Memory of kari edwards

The Summer Writing Program Scholarship in memory of kari edwards is offered annually to one credit or noncredit student accepted into Naropa University’s Summer Writing Program. Eligible applicants must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, and be involved in advocacy for identity and expressionism, and writing experimental works.

Amiri Baraka Scholarship

The Amiri Baraka Scholarship is offered to noncredit participants in Naropa’s Summer Writing Program. Each scholarship will cover one week of noncredit Summer Writing Program tuition and, if needed, a room in a shared apartment for seven nights. Three or more recipients, with one-week scholarships, will be awarded. Students do not need to complete a Financial Aid Application (FAFSA or International Aid Application) to be considered.

Your personal essay should include your writing’s connection to the work and legacy of Amiri Baraka.

1. How does your work continue the legacy of experiments in combining formal innovation and the dynamics of vernacular English (including pidgin and ebonics), and jazz fluency?
2. How does it transcend genre?
3. How does it speak to the revolutionary nature of his work?

Ecopoetics SWP Scholarship

Awarded to one noncredit, non-degree student for one week of the Summer Writing Program. Can include, if needed, a room in a shared apartment for seven nights.  Students do not need to complete a financial aid application (FAFSA or International Aid Application) to be considered. To apply applicants will need to submit a personal essay, 500 to 700 words in length, addressing their recent accomplishments, current projects, or publications of their work; and 5–10 pages of poetry, prose, or translation. Preference given to students incorporating ecology into their writing.

Kevin Killian Memorial SWP Scholarship

Noncredit tuition scholarships will be awarded in memory of Kevin Killian. Students do not need to complete a Financial Aid Application (FAFSA or International Aid Application) to be considered. Beloved of many Kevin Killian was known for personal generosity, a politics of friendship, affinity, & welcome, as well as being a supremely gifted writer moving among—and enlivening—a host of genres such as novels, poems, poet’s theater, internet reviews and more. The scholarships are intended to support writers whose work participates in the Lineage of Bay Area writers, poets, and playwrights.

Nepantla Scholarship

The Nepantla Scholarship will support writers whose work emerges from complexities of language and its entanglement with parasocial realities and the mixing of borders, especially in the Americas. The scholarship will support one week of noncredit tuition, and a shared apartment in Naropa housing.

Zora Neale Hurston Scholarship

The Zora Neale Hurston scholarship is awarded to selected students who’s writing is influenced by the work of Zora Neale Hurston, depicting breadth of experience and exceptional literary merit. The award amount covers full tuition and housing costs for a shared room (for out-of-state recipients) for one week of the Summer Writing Program (credit or noncredit). A total of three recipients, with one-week scholarships will be awarded. Awards are based on exceptional literary merit and promise, as well as financial need.

Black Mountain College Scholarship

The Black Mountain College Scholarship will support a writer whose work emerges from, or extends the varied aesthetic and intellectual legacies of the Black Mountain College and the poets and artists associated with that experimental education project (1933–1957). This scholarship will support one week of non-credit tuition and a shared room in Naropa housing.

Dale Edwin Sherrard Memorial Scholarship

Awarded to an SWP noncredit student, whose work is cross-disciplinary with an innovative, cutting-edge body of work. The preferred recipient will investigate the combined use of text and sound, exploring or collaborating with visual arts, filmmaking, music, dance or other performance arts. The award covers tuition for one week of SWP, and a shared room in student housing, if needed.

Margaret Randall Scholarship in Memory of Mark Behr

The Margaret Randall Scholarship in Memory of Mark Behr is offered annually to noncredit participants in Naropa’s Summer Writing Program. Each scholarship will cover, one week of noncredit Summer Writing Program tuition and, if needed, a room in a shared apartment for seven nights.

SWP Scholarship in Memory of kari edwards

The Summer Writing Program Scholarship in memory of kari edwards is offered annually to one credit or noncredit student accepted into Naropa University’s Summer Writing Program. Eligible applicants must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, and be involved in advocacy for identity and expressionism, and writing experimental works.

Keepers of the Archive Award

Keepers of the Archive Award will be gifted to poets and writers who have an active archival practice and to literary archivists. This award is especially inspired by Akilah Oliver, performance artist, poet and long time Naropa professor who work as seen in she saids, “A Collection of Objects” and A Toast in the House of Friends draws upon the body as a source of memory and archive, history and movement, hybrid traces, collage, performance, community engagement. The scholarship covers 1 week of noncredit tuition and a shared room in student housing, if needed, for the Summer Writing Program.