MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Philip Phillips, associate dean and professor of English in the University Honors College at Middle Tennessee State University, has received the Miembro de Honor award from the Asociación Española Edgar Allan Poe during its fourth international Edgar Allan Poe Spanish Association Conference held in February at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in Spain.
“I am greatly honored to receive this diploma from the Edgar Allan Poe Spanish Association,” said Phillips. “I am especially grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with so many outstanding scholars from Spain and elsewhere on book projects and international conferences on Poe. The work we have done together attests to the enduring and worldwide influence of this great American author.”
The Miembro de Honor designation is the highest recognition bestowed by the Spanish association on scholars who have made significant contributions to the study of Edgar Allan Poe. According to Santiago Rodriguez Guerrero-Strachan, president of EAPSA, Phillips was selected unanimously by the organization’s executive board for his sustained research on Poe, particularly his spatial approach to literary studies.
In its award letter, Rodríguez Guerrero-Strachan cited Phillips’ “significant research” in recent years and noted that his service as president of the Poe Studies Association reflects his commitment to advancing and promoting Poe’s life and work. The honorary membership includes a diploma and lifetime membership in the Spanish association.
“Dr. Phillips is a stellar scholar and a leader in Poe studies, so it is no surprise that he received international acclaim for his contributions to the Academy,” said Leah Tolbert Lyons, dean of the College of Liberal Arts. “We are proud to have him as a member of the faculty in the College of Liberal Arts. He is an exemplar among our outstanding faculty.”
At the conference, which focused on “Poe and Pop Culture,” Phillips delivered a keynote address titled “The Poes and Popular Culture: Edgar, Eliza, and the American Stage.”
Phillips’ scholarship has centered on place, geography and literary space in Poe’s work. He edited “Poe and Place,” and “Poe Spaces: Within and Beyond the Spatial Turn,” both published in Palgrave Macmillan’s Geocriticism and Spatial Literary Studies series. Each volume earned the J. Lasley Dameron Award from the Poe Studies Association for the most outstanding edited collection of essays on Poe, first in 2018 and again in 2025.
Phillips currently serves as president of the Poe Studies Association and continues to publish and present internationally on Poe, reinforcing the university’s presence in global literary scholarship.
“Dr. Phillips is one of the most — if not the most — prolific and accomplished researchers that I have ever encountered during my 27-plus years in higher education,” said Stephen Severn, chair of the MTSU Department of English.
“Scholars in the field of English almost always focus their study on an aspect of the discipline that is relatively narrow in scope. However, he has distinguished himself as a scholar in three areas — one of which is almost wholly distinct from the other two. He can speak with equal (and absolute) authority on Boethius, the fifth-century Roman philosopher; John Milton, the 17th-century British poet; and Edgar Allan Poe, the 19th-century American author. That diversity of academic interest is virtually unheard of in English. And it deserves to be celebrated. Loudly.”
— Robin E. Lee (robin.e.lee@mtsu.edu)
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