Ellen Bryant Voigt

Back Roads Readings was created to bring esteemed poets and writers, both local and regional, to read their work to people in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. Readings are followed by a book signing and reception and held on the HCA Main Stage.

Ellen Bryant Voigt is the author of eight collections of poetry. Her most recent work, Collected Poems, was published by W.W. Norton in February 2023. Her book, Shadow of Heaven (2002), was a finalist for the National Book Award; Kyrie (1995), a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and Messenger, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Voigt’s honors include an award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters; the 2002 Fellowship from the Academy of American Poets; the O. B. Hardison, Jr. Prize from the Folger Shakespeare Library, and numerous grants and distinguished fellowships.  In 2015 Voigt was the recipient of a MacArthur ‘genius’ award. She has served as a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets and as the Vermont State Poet. She now lives in Cabot, Vermont and St. Paul, Minnesota.