Poet Elyse Fenton

Elyse Fenton, a poet who is temporarily living in West Philadelphia, won the prestigous Dylan Thomas Prize earlier this week for Clamor, a collection of poems about her experience as the wife of a soldier serving in Iraq.

“The full spectacle of this is just starting to dawn on me,” she told the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Peter Florence, the chair of the judges for the prize, called Fenton’s work an “astonishing, fully accomplished book of huge ambition and spectacular delivery.”

Fenton was presented the award during a ceremony Wednesday at the University of Swansea, located in the Welsh city where Thomas was born. The prize includes a 30,000 pound ($48,000) cash prize. Fenton’s work was the first time the 3-year-old prize has been awarded to a book of poems. Authors under the age of 30 who have published a work in English are eligible for the award.

The Inquirer reported that Fenton is staying in her brother’s West Philly row home while her husband, who served in Iraq in 2005, serves a legal clerkship in Trenton.