Dillard attended Hollins College in Roanoke, Virginia, where she studied English, theology, and creative writing.[6] Dillard stated, "In college I learned how to learn from other people. As far as I was concerned, writing in college didn't consist of what little Annie had to say, but what Wallace Stevens had to say. I didn't come to college to think my own thoughts, I came to learn what had been thought."[7] She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1967 and a Master of Arts degree in 1968.[1] Her Master's thesis on Henry David Thoreau showed how Walden Pond functioned as "the central image and focal point for Thoreau's narrative movement between heaven and earth."
Dillard spent the first few years after graduation oil painting, writing, and keeping a journal. Several of her poems and short stories were published, and during this time she also worked for Lyndon B. Johnson's Anti-Poverty Program.
From 1975 to 1978, Dillard was a scholar-in-residence at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington.[1]
Dillard has since received honorary doctorate degrees from Boston College, Connecticut College, and the University of Hartford.[6]
