Seniors Read from Thesis Projects at Annual Literature Senior Projects Reading

On Wednesday evening (May 20th), graduating literature students from the class of 2026 gathered in Tishman Lecture Hall for Bennington College’s annual Literature Senior Projects Reading, an event that marked the culmination of months (and, for many, years) of creative and critical work. The reading, part of the college’s long-running Literature Evenings series, featured seniors presenting excerpts from their thesis projects in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and literary criticism.

The readers were Hannah Bardhi, Jay Clark, Carrie Colley, Lily Hauser, Anna Grace Hethcox, Blu Mehari, Anne Pötzsch, Lily Sanders, Riley Seidel, and Holland Williams. Throughout the evening, they read excerpts that ranged widely in tone and form. Some pieces explored identity, memory, and family histories; others leaned into satire, social critique, or formally experimental prose. The readings moved between vulnerability and humor, often revealing the deeply personal stakes behind the work. Audience members laughed at moments of dry wit, sat quietly through emotionally charged passages, and applauded after each reading.

Events like this highlight the central role literature continues to play within Bennington’s broader culture. The college’s literature program emphasizes close reading across genres and sustained engagement with craft and contemporary writing practices. Literature Evenings and the Poetry at Bennington reading series, held regularly throughout the academic year, bring together faculty, visiting writers, and students in conversation. 

The event also reflected the distinctive structure of Bennington’s literature program, where students design self-directed projects that often grow out of independent studies, advanced workshops, and long-term faculty mentorship. The requirements for the senior projects are: full-length first drafts of 75 pages of fiction or creative nonfiction, including hybrid forms; 50 pages of literary criticism; and 30 pages of poetry. Additionally, the length of translation projects are determined with the help of the instructor. 

After the reading, the winners of the 2026 Ben Belitt Undergraduate Writing Prize competition and the Academy of American Poets Prize for College were announced, who the audience celebrated duly. According to the Bennington Bulletin, “all entries to the prize competition entries were screened by the Literature faculty, and Jo Ann Beard selected the winners from a pool of ten finalists. The winning entries were judged “blindly;” that is, all names and other identifying characteristics were removed.” The winners for the Ben Belitt Prize were Scarlett Choi ’28 (fiction, “The Ocean”), Carrie Colley ’26 (for “Poem Without Suffering” and other poems), and Emma Gaffney ’28 (fiction, “Paraphilia”). Additionally, Blu Mehari ’26 won this year’s Poet’s Prize for her poem “Ludger Sylbaris Runs Amuck, Martinique Eruption Survivor and Barnum Performer in the Albany Jail,” which was selected out of 72 submissions by 24 Bennington students. Grace Schlett ’26 earned honorable mention for her poem “Self-Portrait.” Additionally, Phillip Williams asked to recognize a second runner-up, Mira Goldstein ’27 for her poem “Nudist Colony.”

Friends, faculty, and classmates were among the attendees. Flowers were distributed to the readers and there were drinks for everyone. As the reading concluded, students lingered in the hall, speaking with friends and faculty, carrying printed manuscripts and conversations into the penultimate week of the semester.