Author Jennifer Horne named the newest Hall-Waters Prize recipient

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Pictured: Renowned author Jennifer Horne.

Described by her peers as a shining example of professionalism and humility, Jennifer

Horne is an award-winning poet and nonfiction author. She will also be the newest recipient of the Hall-Waters Prize for Distinguished Southern Writing.

“I was just surprised and delighted,” Horne said. “It’s such an honor to be recognized,

and I feel like I'm in such wonderful company.”

The Hall-Waters Prize is an award funded by the late Troy alumnus Dr. Wade Hall – a

notable professor, author and researcher – in honor of his parents, Wade Hall, Sr. and Sarah Elizabeth Waters. The award is presented to those who have excellently highlighted Southern heritage and culture in history, literature or the arts. Horne will receive the Hall-Waters Prize on April 25. The award will be presented at a ceremony organized by students of Dr. Kirk Curnutt’s English 4495 senior seminar class. It will be in the Lamar P. Higgins Ballrooms in the Trojan Center.

At the ceremony, Horne will read excerpts from her biography and poetry. The reading will be free and open to the public.

“I've personally known Jennifer for almost thirty years,” said Curnutt, chair of the English Department at Troy University. “She is very knowledgeable in the forms and styles of the genres she writes in.

“She has always worked for the betterment of literary culture rather than her own career.”

A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, Horne is known for her many novels and poetry collections, including “Bottle Tree, Little Wanderer,” and “Borrowed Light,” as well as her short story collection “Tell the World You’re a Wildflower.” Horne has co-edited and edited several works and served as the Poet Laureate of Alabama from 2017 to 2021.

“A lot of authors stick to one genre, but I found that the things I wanted to say needed to

be said in different genres,” Horne said. “It's very gratifying to be recognized, that what I've done does have a wholeness to it.”

Horne’s most recent work is her biography “Odyssey of a Wandering Mind: The Strange

Tale of Sara Mayfield, Author.” It tells the story of Sara Mayfield, childhood friend of Zelda

Sayre Fitzgerald – two southern women who spent a large portion of their lives in mental health facilities.

“Jennifer's biography of Mayfield really demonstrates to me how important it is to document women's lives as well as the lives of people stereotyped as mentally ill,” Curnutt said.

“Mayfield spent the better part of her adult years at Bryce Hospital in Tuscaloosa, and the story is complicated.

“She was originally committed by her family but at some point chose to stay there seventeen years. The book talks a lot about women's creativity and how it often is imprisoned by social institutions when mistaken for eccentric or hysterical.”

Initially sparked out of curiosity, Horne spent nearly 15 years researching and revising

this biography. She relied heavily on Mayfield’s papers – which were donated to the special

collections library at the University of Alabama – to complete the work. She hopes readers can take away themes of identity.

“I like to ask myself, ‘Who am I?’ and ‘Why am I here?” Horne said. “When I ask myself

those questions, I hope that they might have some salience or relevance to other people, too.

“In everything I do, I want people to ask, ‘What does it mean to be a human on this

planet at this particular time in this particular place.’