SPENCER
REECE
The Rev. Canon Spencer Reece is currently the Rector of St. Paul’s Wickford, Rhode Island. Born in Hartford, CT, Reece’s journey into the priesthood was elliptical. Though his journey began in his twenties, it was postponed as he patiently developed his craft as a poet, publishing his first collection of poems at the age of 41 while working in retail. This life experience along with his service among at risk populations as a member of the clergy makes him the perfect ambassador for demonstrating how poetry can work through us to lift us up and connect us with the divine in our daily lives.
Reece is a graduate of Wesleyan University, where he majored in English Literature and studied with Annie Dillard. He holds degrees from the University of York in the United Kingdom, Harvard Divinity School, and Berkeley Divinity School at Yale. His poetry was chosen for the Bakeless Poetry Prize by Nobel laureate Louise Glück and adapted into a short film by director James Franco. He has been awarded fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.