Lucille Clifton served as Distinguished Professor of Humanities and holder of the Hilda C. Landers Endowed chair in the Liberal Arts at St. Mary’s College of Maryland until her retirement in the fall of 2005.

Remains Professor Emeritus and Friend to St. Mary’s College in Maryland.

Lucille Clifton’s Poetry is anthologized in over 100 anthologies of poetry.

Won the National Book Award; for Blessing the Boats: New and Selected Poems 1988- 2000.  2000

A Pushcart prize in 2000

She won the Lila Wallace-Readers' Digest Writers' Award, 1999

Elected a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, 1999

She was inducted into the National Literature Hall of Fame for African American Writers, 1998.

Lenore Marshal Poetry Prize, 1998

Phi Beta Kappa, 1998

Won the Charity Randall Citation from the International Poetry Forum Lannan Literary Award for poetry, 1997

The Los Angeles Times Poetry Award, 1997

National Book Award nomination for Terrible Stories, 1996

A Lannan Achievement Literary Award in Poetry, 1996

Featured in the PBS program; The Language of Life: A Festival of Poets with Bill Moyers. 1995

She was a finalist for the National Book Award, the Lenore Marshall Prize and the Los Angeles Times Book Award for; The Terrible Stories, 1995

Andrew White Medal, Loyola College of Baltimore, 1993

Maryland Living Treasure, 1993

Won the Shelley Memorial Prize from the Poetry Society of America, 1992

Won the Charity Randall Citation from the International Poetry Forum, 1991

Nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Two Headed Woman, 1991

Featured in the PBS series; The Power of the Word with Bill Moyers, 1989

Won the Shestack Poetry Prize from the American Poetry Review, 1988

Won the Woman of Words Award from the Women's Foundation, 1988

Nominated for Pulitzer Prize, for Good Woman: Poems and a Memoir 1969-1980, 1987

Was Poet Laureate for the State of Maryland, 1975-85

Nominated for Pulitzer Prize, 1980

Creative Writing Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1970 and 1973

Won an Emmy Award for poetry, 1974

Selected Literary Lion by the New York Public Library

Won the Juniper Prize from the University of Massachusetts Press for Two Headed Woman, 1980

Won an Emmy Award from The American Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
   
Inducted as Fellow of the American Academy of  Arts and Sciences, 1990

YM-YWHA Poetry Center Discovery Award, 1969

A Grant from the American Academy of Poets

Featured poet, The New York City Transit Authority Poetry in Motion project, 1992

Featured poet, The California Street Fare Journal project. 1988