Russell Edson

Russell Edson (born 1935 in Connecticut) is an American poet, novelist, and illustrator. He has been called the “godfather of the prose poem in America.”

Life
Tand the son of the cartoonist-screenwriter Gus Edson, Russell Edson was born in Connecticut. He studied art early in life and attended the Art Students League as a teenager. He began publishing poetry in the 1960s.

He has published numerous collections of prose poetry, short stories, and fables, two novels, and a book of plays.

He lives in Darien, Connecticut, with his wife, Frances.

Recognition
His honors as a poet include a Guggenheim fellowship and several fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Awards

 * 1992 National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship
 * 1981 National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship
 * 1976 National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship
 * 1974 Guggenheim Fellowship

Poetry

 * Appearances: Fables and Drawings. Stamford, CT: Thing Press, 1961.
 * A Stone Is Nobody’s: Fables and Drawings. Stamford, CT: Thing Press, 1961.
 * The Boundry. Stamford, CT: Thing Press, 1964.
 * The Very Thing That Happens: Fables and Drawings. New York: New Directions, 1964.
 * The Brain Kitchen: Writings and Woodcuts. Stamford, CT: Thing Press, 1965.
 * What a Man Can See. Highlands, NC: Jargon Society, 1969.
 * The Childhood of an Equestrian. New York: Harper, 1973.
 * The Clam Theater. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1973.
 * A Roof with Some Clouds behind It. Hartford, CT: Bartholomew’s Cobble, 1975.
 * The Intuitive Journey and other works. New York: Harper, 1976.
 * The Reason Why the Closet-Man Is Never Sad. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1977.
 * Edson’s Mentality. Chicago: OINK! Press, 1977.
 * The Traffic. Madison, WI: Red Ozier Press, 1978.
 * With Sincerest Regrets. Providence, RI: Burning Deck, 1980.
 * Wuck Wuck Wuck! (with a linocut by Richard Mock). New York, Red Ozier Press, 1984.
 * The Wounded Breakfast: Ten Poems. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1985.
 * The Tunnel: Selected poems. Oberlin, OH: Oberlin College Press, 1994.
 * The Tormented Mirror. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2001.
 * The Rooster’s Wife. Rochester, NY: BOA Editions, 2007.
 * See Jack. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2009.

Plays
The Falling Sickness (plays). New York: New Directions, 1975.

Fiction

 * Gulping’s Recital (novel). Rhinebeck, NY: Guignol Books, 1984.
 * The Song of Percival Peacock (novel). Minneapolis, MN: Coffee House Press, 1992.
 * Tick Tock: Short Stories and Woodcut. Minneapolis, MN: Coffee House Press, 1992.
 * The Song of Percival Peacock: A Novel. Minneapolis, MN: Coffee House Press, 1992.

''Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy the Poetry Foundation.