Richard Siken | |
|---|---|
 Siken in 2001 | |
| Born | February 15, 1967 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Poet |
| Alma mater | University of Arizona ( BA. MFA) |
Richard Siken (born February 15, 1967) is an American poet, painter, and filmmaker. He is the author of the collection Crush ( Yale University Press, 2005), which won the Yale Series of Younger Poets Competition in 2004. [1] His second book of poems, War of the Foxes, was published by Copper Canyon Press in 2015.
Early life and education
Siken was born in New York City. [2] He studied at and received a B.A. in psychology and later a Master of Fine Arts in poetry from the University of Arizona. [3] He is his mother's only child, with a half-brother on his father's side 16 years older, who never lived with him. He has a stepsister and two stepbrothers, who are all over 10 years older than him and have never lived with him. [4]
Career
In 2001, Siken co-founded Spork Press, where he continues to work as an editor.
Siken received a Literature Fellowship in Poetry from the National Endowment for the Arts, and his book Crush was awarded the Lambda Literary Award for "Gay Men's Poetry" in 2005, [5] and the Thom Gunn Award from Publishing Triangle. The 1990 death of his boyfriend influenced his writing of the book. [6] [7]
Siken's book War of the Foxes became a recipient of two residencies with the Lannan Residency Program, and a Lannan Literary Selection. [8]
Siken currently lives in Tucson, Arizona. On March 19, 2019, Siken reported on his Facebook that he had recently suffered a stroke. On December 4, 2020, he published his first post-stroke poem, "Real Estate" on poets.org [9] after announcing it on his Facebook the day prior. [10]
On July 9, 2023, he announced his new book I Do Know Some Things comes out in Fall 2024. Siken described the new publication on Twitter as "77 prose poems about what I can remember about my life. It is autobiographical. A backstage pass." [11]
Awards
Crush won the 2004 Yale Series of Younger Poets prize, selected by Louise Glück. It was also a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Lambda Literary Award, and the Thom Gunn Award.
Siken is also the recipient of a Pushcart Prize, two Arizona Commission on the Arts grants, and a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.
- Yale Series of Younger Poets Competition, 2004, for Crush [1]
- National Book Critics Circle Award, 2005, finalist [12]
- Lambda Literary Award, 2006 [13]
- Thom Gunn Award, 2006 [14]
- Lannan Residency Program, Fall 2007 [15]
- Lannan Residency Program, Spring 2014 [16]
- Pushcart Prize
- Two Arizona Commission on the Arts grants
- National Endowment for the Arts fellowship
Bibliography
- Crush ( Yale University Press, 2005) ISBN 9780300107210, OCLC 637026953
- War of the Foxes ( Copper Canyon Press, 2015) ISBN 9781556594779, OCLC 990282587
References
- ^ a b "Richard Siken". Poetry Foundation. 17 August 2022.
- ^ "Richard Siken - Western Illinois University". www.wiu.edu. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- ^ "Nerve-Wracked Love by Nell Casey". Poetry Foundation. 2016-11-16. Retrieved 2016-11-16.
- ^ Siken, Richard (October 5, 2023). "I am my mother's only child. I have a half-brother on my dad's side who is 16 years older. We never lived together. An I have a stepsister and two step brothers, all of whom are over ten years older than me and didn't live in the same house. Which makes me the youngest of five". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 2023-11-13.
- ^ "Previous Lammy Award Winners". Lambda Literary Foundation. Archived from the original on 2008-05-04. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
- ^ Schuman, Joan (2006-04-13). "Poetry Personas: Three well-known writers reflect on new, contemporary work". Tucson Weekly.
- ^ Siken, Richard. "Cover Story". Pithead Chapel.
- ^ Robinson, Shane. "Lannan Literary Program - Lannan Foundation". www.lannan.org. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
- ^ Siken, Richard. "Real Estate". poets.org. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
- ^ Siken, Richard. "Facebook". Facebook.
- ^ Siken, Richard [@richardsiken] (July 9, 2023). "My new book _I Do Know Some Things_ comes out in Fall 2024. It is 77 prose poems about what I can remember about my life. It is autobiographical. A backstage pass" ( Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "National Book Critics Circle: awards". bookcritics.org. Archived from the original on 2019-10-06. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
- ^ Cerna, Antonio Gonzalez (2005-04-09). "18th Annual Lambda Literary Awards". Lambda Literary. Archived from the original on 2013-12-11. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
- ^ "Publishing Triangle". www.publishingtriangle.org. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
- ^ Diaz, Alex. "Richard Siken - Lannan Foundation". www.lannan.org. Archived from the original on 2016-11-19. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
- ^ Diaz, Alex. "Richard Siken - Lannan Foundation". www.lannan.org. Archived from the original on 2016-11-19. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
