The National Federation of State Poetry Societies (NFSPS) recently named Michael Welch, Marquette ‘16, the recipient of the 2016 Florence Kahn Memorial Award. The award is one of two given as a result of the NFSPS’ College Undergraduate Poetry Competition.

The NFSPS published Welch’s poetry chapbook, But Sometimes I Remember, presented him a $500 cash prize, and invited him to read at their convention in St. Paul, Minnesota in June.

Welch is graduating with a double major in writing intensive English and public relations. He served as the editor-in-chief of the Marquette University Literary Review (MULR) and as the editorial intern at Reader’s Digest Association.

In But Sometimes I Remember, Welch explores the narrative of memory—how it comforts and traumatizes us, how it shapes who we are, and how eventually it becomes fiction. These poems include characters driven by their desire to remember and be remembered, forget the pain that haunts them, and understand complex moments from their past. From larger-than-life childhood monuments, directions home through the old neighborhood, to a reimagining of Chicago from hometown to battleground, memories tie the past and present into a single story where the living and the forgotten meet.

Welch’s book is now available on Amazon.