"The Secularist," a book of poetry written by UNLV professor Claudia Keelan, has been nominated for the Los Angeles Times Book Award.
"I was surprised and pleased to be nominated for the award," said Keelan, an assistant professor of English. "I have no idea who nominated me -- and had no idea that anyone was even considering nominating me -- which makes it an even nicer surprise."
"The Secularist," published by the University of Georgia Press earlier this year, is her second book. Her first was a collection of poems called "Refinery," which won the Cleveland State University Poetry Prize in 1993.
Keelan described "The Secularist" as "a coming-of-age document."
"I explore ideas of influence from sources as varied as the American English canon of literature to TV events such as the videotaped beating of Rodney King."
Her own questions about God play a major role in the work, she said. "If there is one, why does suffering exist? If there is one, how does a poet find -- through language -- faith?"
Early in her search Keelan said, "I was trying really hard not to believe in religion and God as an answer to the human condition." Those feelings are reflected in the early portions of "The Secularist," she said.
But by the time the work was finished, Keelan said, "I had decided it's a dead end not to believe in God."
In addition to teaching undergraduate students at UNLV, Keelan is one of the English department faculty members who helped create UNLV's new master of fine arts in creative writing, a program which began this semester.
"I'm so excited about the future of this program," Keelan said. "We've started small, as we expected to do, but as word spreads about this program, we know interest in it will grow.
"One thing that makes our program different from the other creative writing programs across the country is its international focus. That will help make this program special."
As part of the three-year program, students will be required to spend one semester in a non-English speaking country and also will be required to complete one significant literary translation. Additionally, foreign poets, novelists, and short-story writers will be brought in to teach.
