How Does One Get A Grant Anyway?

A story in which a friend lies to me, and I get $5,000

Cahaba Lily

My mentor was the first to mention the fellowships from the Alabama State Council on the Arts to me about a year or two ago. So, it was already on my radar when I saw the social media posts pop up about it. It’s a general rule that no one makes money as a poet, but the idea of $5,000 to use toward developing new work was enticing.

I opened and closed the application half-a-dozen times in as many months. I never got very far into looking at it. It seemed intimidating. Plus, there were several notices that I should talk with a council staff member ahead of time to make sure my application was as strong as possible. It sounded like a lot of trouble, and they want me to talk to someone else about the thing? No way. No thanks.

I had resolved to put it from my mind, and I did. Until a good friend of mine (and fellow writer) sent me an email with a link to the grant saying that it was short and would take maybe 30 minutes. That was enough to convince me.

30 minutes was a lie.

But also, it sort of wasn’t a lie in that I did manage to have the whole thing pulled together in around 45 minutes. I flew through the application and only paused for a good long moment at the question: How will receiving a Fellowship enhance and advance your career in 2023? I had tossed this idea around in my head before and kept coming back to it no matter how much I shook it off. I wanted to kayak the entirety of the Cahaba and write poetry about it. This seemed like a perfect way to combine two of my loves. I dashed off this idea in less than a dozen sentences, and that was it.

I submitted the thing with two minutes to spare.

Am I the hypocritical professor (I teach English at UAB for those of you who don’t know me) for telling my students to not do things last-minute and then turn around and do things at the last minute? Probably. But I also tell them to do the hard and scary unknown things because you never know when the thing you’re never-gonna-get becomes a reality. So, I at least follow SOME of my own advice. And as it turns out, it’s pretty good advice.

After submitting, I promptly forgot about the whole grant. Which is very unlike me. I like to sweat about stuff as if the extra worry ensures success (it doesn’t). Months later, I was loaded down with bags stumbling into the dorms on the campus of the University of Kentucky when my phone buzzed. I was there to deliver a lecture at SHiFT Design Camp and not at all expecting a call. Jostling around two arms full of gear, I managed a glance at my phone and caught “ALABAMA” on the caller ID. What was the whole state of Alabama doing calling me?

 I did what I never do and let it go to voicemail.

When I finally made it to my room and collapsed into a pile of pillows and spend-the-night bags, I played the voicemail. It was Anne Kimsey from the Alabama State Council of the Arts telling me I got the grant! I whooped and immediately called her back, thanking her profusely. And now, months later, that money sits in an account and plans are in action. It still doesn’t seem real but here I am, and here you are, too! There’s so many more of you than I thought there were going to be. I’m grateful to have each of you along this journey.

I hope this writing reminds to you dream big and do the thing you think will never happen. For those of you out there who are writers or the artistic sort, the Alabama State Council on the Arts individual grant cycle is open again. Grants are due March 1st. I promise it’s not as scary as it seems and the ASCA folks are super nice and so helpful. If you’re on the fence about trying for it, just do it!

That’s all for now, but more posts are close on the horizon. Thank y’all for being here.

Onward!