David Mason has been named the 2009 Thatcher Hoffman Smith Creativity in Motion Prize recipient, the Norman Transcript reports. Given biennially by the University of Oklahoma College of Arts and Sciences in honor of the creative process, the prize of $40,000 will help support Mason in composing the libretto for the opera adaptation of his verse novel Ludlow. "For years, I have been wishing to enlarge what poets could do by creating bigger dramas than are usually found in our poetry," Mason said. "Opera may be the perfect arena in which to accomplish this task." The award ceremony will be held in September.