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Marilyn nelson 0950

Marilyn Nelson in 2014. Photo by Slowking. Licensed under Creative Commons, courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Marilyn Nelson (born April 26, 1946)[1] is an African-American poet, translator and children's book author. She is the author or translator of 12 books and 3 chapbooks.

Life[]

Nelson was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Johnnie (Mitchell), a teacher, and Melvin M. Nelson, a U.S. serviceman in the Air Force. She was brought up living on military bases, and began writing while in elementary school.[1]

She earned a B.A. from the University of California, Davis, an M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1970, and a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1979.[1]

Career[]

Nelson is a professor emeritus of English at the University of Connecticut. She is the founder and director of Soul Mountain Retreat, a writers' colony she founded in 2004 to "“encourage and support emerging and established poets—especially those belonging to traditionally underrepresented racial or cultural groups.”[2]

Recognition[]

Her poetry collection The Homeplace (1990) won the 1992 Anisfield-Wolf Award, and was a finalist for the 1991 National Book Award. The Fields Of Praise: New And selected poems (Louisiana State University Press), won the 1998 Poets' Prize, and was a finalist for the 1997 National Book Award.[1] [3]

Her other honors include 2 National Endowment for the Arts creative writing fellowships, the 1990 Connecticut Arts Award, a Fulbright Teaching Fellowship, and a 2001 Guggenheim Fellowship.[4]

She was poet laureate of Connecticut from 2001 to 2006.[5]

Awards[]

  • 2005 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award
  • 2001 Boston Globe/Hornbook Award
  • 1998 Poets' Prize
  • 1992 Anisfield-Wolf Award

Publications[]

Poetry[]

  • For the Body: Poems. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1978.
  • Mama's Promises: Poems. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisian State University Press, 1985.
  • The Homeplace: Poems. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisian State University Press, 1990.
  • Partial Truth (chapbook). Willington, CT: Kutenai Press, 1992.
  • Magnificat. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1994.
  • The Fields of Praise: New and selected poems. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1997.
  • She-Devil Circus (chapbook). West Chester, PA: Aralia Press, 2001.
  • Triolets for Triolet (chapbook). Curbstone Press, 2001.
  • Carver: A Life in Poems. Asheville, NC: Front Street, 2001.
  • The Cachoeira Tales, and other poems. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisian State University Press, 2005.
  • The Freedom Business: Connecticut landscapes through the eyes of Venture Smith: Poems. Old Lyme, CT: Lyme Historical Society / Florence Griswold Museum, 2006.
  • Sweethearts of Rhythm: The story of the greatest all-girl band in the world (illustrated by Jerry Pinkney). New York: Dial Books, 2009.
  • Faster than Light: New and selected poems. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 2012.

Juvenile[]

  • The Cat Walked Through the Casserole, and other poems for children (with Pamela Espeland, various illustrators). Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda Books, 1984.
  • Fortune's Bones: The manumission requiem (young adult). Asheville, NC: Front Street, 2004.
  • A Wreath for Emmett Till (illustrated by Philippe Lardy). Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2005.
  • Miss Crandall's school for young ladies and little misses of color : poems (with Elizabeth Alexander; illustrated by Floyd Cooper). HonHonesdale, Pa. : Wordsong, 2007.
  • Pemba’s Song: A ghost story (with Tonya Hegamin). New York: Scholastic Press, 2008.
  • The Freedom Business: Including a narrative of the life and adventures of Venture, a native of Africa. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong, 2008.
  • Snook Alone (illustrated by Timothy B. Ering). Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2010.
  • Ostrich and Lark. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press, 2012.
  • How I Discovered Poetry (poem; illustrated by Hadley Hooper). New York: Dial Books, 2014.
  • Beautiful Ballerina (with photos by Susan Kuklin). New York: Scholastic, 2009.

Translated[]

  • Halfdan Rasmussen, Hundreds of Hens, and other poems for children (translated with Pamela Espeland; illustrated by D.M. Robinson). Minneapolis, MN: Black Willow Press, 1982.
  • Inge Pedersen, The Thirteenth Month. Oberlin, OH: Oberlin College Press, 2005.
  • Halfdan Rasmussen, The Ladder (illustrated by Pierre Pratt). Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2006.
  • Euripides, Hecuba, in Euripedes I (edited by David R. Slavitt & Palmer Bovie). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press (Penn Greek Drama Series), 1998.[6]
  • Halfdan Rasmussen, A Little Bitty Man, and other poems for children (translated with Pamela Espeland; illustrated by Kevin Hawkes). Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2011.
Marilyn_Nelson_Dear_Poet_2017

Marilyn Nelson Dear Poet 2017

Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.[7]

See also[]

References[]

Notes[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Marilyn Nelson, Poets.org, Academy of American Poets. Web, Sep. 15, 2018.
  2. Marilyn Nelson b. 1946, Poetry Foundation, Web, Nov. 15, 2012.
  3. Author's Booking Agent: Blue Flowers Arts; Author Page; Marilyn Nelson Bio
  4. Soul Mountain Retreat > Marilyn Nelson Biography
  5. Author's Booking Agent: Blue Flowers Arts > Author Page > Marilyn Nelson Bio
  6. Euripides 1, University of Pennsylvania Press. Web, Oct. 31, 2015.
  7. Search results = au:Marilyn Nelson, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Centre Inc. Web, Oct. 31, 2015.

External links[]

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