Poet Nicholas Friedman, MFA '12, a lecturer in the Department of English, is one of five recipients of a 2012 Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship. The 2012 winners were announced Aug. 31 by The Poetry Foundation and Poetry magazine.

The $15,000 scholarship prize is one of the largest monetary awards offered to aspiring poets in the United States. The editors of Poetry magazine selected the winning manuscripts from more than 1,000 submissions.

The fellowship program was established in 1989 by philanthropist Ruth Lilly to encourage the further writing and study of poetry and to honor living U.S. poets "whose lifetime accomplishments warrant extraordinary recognition." The competition is open to all U.S. poets between ages 21 and 31. Up to five fellowships are awarded each year.

Past winners of the Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship include Emily Rosko, MFA '03, and T. Zachary Cotler, B.A. '03.