Max Chapnick Awarded the Beverly Lyon Clark Article Prize

At the Louisa May Alcott Society's annual business meeting in Boston this year, Max L. Chapnick was awarded the Beverly Lyon Clark Article Prize for his essay, "Duty and Ambition in Louisa May Alcott Poems, Old and New." 

Committee members had this to say about the essay:

Chapnick's article "makes significant new contributions ... by attending to Alcott’s poetry, which is understudied, attributing previously unattributed poems to Alcott and offering a compelling discussion of their significance. Max’s discussion asserts that these poems (and his discussion of them) contributes to the case for the other previously unattributed stories he has identified. I admire the readings he offers of the individual poems. He both situates them within the broader context of 19th century poetry by women and within Alcott’s body of work, offering an elegant argument for how these poems contribute to our understanding of the tension between duty and ambition Alcott often explored in her work. Max’s comprehensive knowledge of Alcott’s work and of Alcott scholarship over many decades is most impressive."

Additionally, Chapnick's essay "contains significant recovery scholarship - attributing previously unknown poetry to Alcott and put[ting] forward a sound argument for the importance of poetry to her authorial development and in her canon of writing more broadly. Chapnick's concise and insightful close reading also deepens wider scholarly discussion about the conflict Alcott experienced between Romantic ambition and familial duty. [T]heir conclusion that Alcott may have regretted her pragmatic decision to write for the market [is] intriguing and original. It offers an entirely different vision of Alcott to what we’ve seen before."

The prize was established to honor the lifetime of scholarship by Alcott scholar Beverly Lyon Clark. It is awarded annually by the selection committee for an article published in the previous year that advances scholarship in Alcott studies. Previous award winners include Sandy Petrulionis and Azelina Flint.

Chapnick's article can be found in American Periodicals 34.2 (2024). Please join the Alcott Society in congratulating Max Chapnick for his excellent work.