Jacques Rancourt ’09, award-winning poet and mentor to current UMF students
By April Mulherin, Associate Director for Media Relations
A first generation student from South Berwick, Maine, Jacques Rancourt never imagined he would return to his Farmington alma mater an award-winning poet, mentor to current UMF students and featured author in Farmington’s popular Visiting Writers Series.
As an undergraduate student, he was looking for a professional career where he could work, travel and be creative, but wasn’t quite sure what that would be. He was interested in English or journalism, then he read his first poem in Professor Jeff Thomson’s poetry workshop, and for Rancourt, “it just clicked.” He began reading poetry, writing poetry and gaining a sense of who he was as a poet.
“I was surrounded by educators who inspired me and felt called to the writer’s life,” said Rancourt. “Professors Patricia O’Donnell and Jennifer Reid were wonderful professionals, mentors and easy to connect with. They really enjoyed their students and gave you confidence you would grow in your craft.”
At Farmington, he served two poetry internships and edited the Sandy River Review, which he found instrumental in helping him when he went on to start a literary magazine.
“Professor, poet and peace activist Lee Sharkey was a huge influence in my writing and my life. I learned the ethics of being an editor from my work with her. She gave me the sense of what it is to be a citizen of poetry, “ said Rancourt.
Rancourt is a 2009 graduate of the University of Maine at Farmington’s lauded B.F.A. program in Creative Writing and a second major in English. He went on after graduation to earn his master’s degree in poetry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and served a four-month Cite Internationale des Arts residency in Paris.
He also received the prestigious Wallace Stegner Fellowship from Stanford University as well as a Halls Emerging Artist Fellowship from the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing and scholarships from the Bread Loaf Sewanee Writers’ Conferences and Sewanee Writers’ Conferences.
Rancourt is the author of two poetry collections, “Brocken Spectre” (Alice James Books) and “Novena” (Pleiades Press), as well as a chapbook, “In the Time of PrEP (Beloit Poetry Journal.)
Rancourt now enjoys the life and professional career he hoped to create for himself. He has taught middle school, high school and at the college level, all with a focus on inspiring his students to believe in themselves and what they can accomplish. He is currently passing on his love for poetry as an English teacher.