Past Fellow Elizabeth Arnold, 1958—2024

The Fine Arts Work Center mourns the loss of Elizabeth Arnold. A dedicated educator, extraordinary poet, and longtime member of our Writing Committee, Arnold was deeply committed to her craft and to nurturing young writers. Arnold was first a Fellow at the Fine Arts Work Center in 1997-1998. She then served as a juror for the writing fellowship and brought her grace, intellect, and care to the selection process. The FAWC community will greatly miss her presence. Below we’ve shared a moving tribute from the editors at Flood Editions. 

“The poet Elizabeth Arnold passed away this morning, 24 February 2024, after long illness. She was a dear person—a restless traveler as well as an intrepid thinker, devoted to her dogs, friends, and students—and a remarkable poet. She published six books of poetry, which to a rare degree, constitute a coherent body of work: Wave House (2023), Skeleton Coast (2017), Life (2014), Effacement (2010), Civilization (2006), and The Reef (1999). Arnold earned her PhD in English at the University of Chicago, where she worked for Chicago Review. Researching the poet Mina Loy for her dissertation, she discovered the poet’s lost novel, Insel, which she edited for Black Sparrow Press in 1991. Arnold taught in the MFA program at the University of Maryland before retiring and moving to Frostburg, Maryland, where she found a community of friends.”