Meet Our Alumni

MaryBeth Cooper ('17) won a University & College Poetry Prizes from the Academy of American Poets. Her poem "Everything I Hate About My Body,” was awarded the Frankye Davis Mayes Prize.

As a writing minor at IC, MaryBeth concentrated mainly on fiction. She describes a key moment in her time at IC, where she studied with Professor Jacob White: “I always wanted to be a writer, but for whatever reason I didn't consider that as an option for my career until Jacob told me that if all I wanted to do was write, I could do it.” Now, having earned her MFA in Creative Writing with a concentration in Fiction, she teaches English at Central Georgia Technical College.

The inspiration for her poem came from an increased connection between mind and body as well as Molly Brodak's satirical poem, "I Hate Women.”