Education:
Doctor of Philosophy, English, Florida State University
Master of Fine Arts, Creative Writing, Wichita State University
Bachelor of Arts, English, University of San Francisco
Associate of Arts, Liberal Arts, Holyoke Community College


Biography:
Craig Blais’s first collection of poems, About Crows (University of Wisconsin Press, 2013), was a finalist for the National Poetry Series and Walt Whitman Award before being selected by Terrance Hayes for the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry. It was awarded the Florida Book Award gold medal for poetry. Craig’s second book, Moon News (University of Arkansas Press, 2021), was named a finalist for the Miller Williams Prize by former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins and also was a finalist for the Housatonic Book Award. His current book project is a long poem/memoir hybrid titled /The Vents/, which has had “chapters” published in Another Chicago Magazine, Arts & Letters, Conduit, Gulf Coast, Harpur Palate, The Laurel Review, Mid-American Review, Salt Hill, and elsewhere. In 2025, his work was supported by the Mass Cultural Council with a Grant for Creative Individuals.


Courses Taught at Anna Maria:
Introduction to Academic Writing
First-Year Writing
Writing through Literature
Introduction to Creative Writing
U.S. Literary Traditions
Banned Books
Race and Ethnicity in American Literature
Memoir Writing
Novel Writing
Poetry Writing
Honors Senior Thesis


Research Interests:
Creative Writing, Twentieth Century American Poetry, Literary Modernism & Postmodernism, The Long Poem


Publications:
Blais, C. (2021). Moon News. Fayetteville, AR: The University of Arkansas Press.
Blais, C. (2013). About Crows. Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press.