Christopher Cokinos
Encyclopedia
Christopher Cokinos is an American poet
and writer of nonfiction on nature and the environment.
Born in 1963 in Indianapolis, Indiana
, he studied at Indiana University at Bloomington (BA
1981) and at Washington University in St. Louis
(MFA
1991). He taught at Kansas State University
from 1991-2002. He also served as president of the Kansas Audubon Council from 1996-98.
He is now an associate professor of English at Utah State University
and founding editor of Isotope: A Journal of Literary Nature and Science Writing.
In 2003, he was one of 10 national recipients of the Whiting Writers' Award, given annually to emerging writers of exceptional talent and promise. He is also the winner of the Sigurd Olson Nature Writing Award, the Fine-Line Prize for Lyric Prose (from Mid-American Review), and the Glasgow Prize for an Emerging Writing of Nonfiction.
Cokinos is the winner of fellowships and grants from the American Antiquarian Society, the Utah Arts Council, and the National Science Foundation. In 2003-2004 he was a member of the Antarctic Search for Meteorites expedition for five weeks, as part of his research for The Fallen Sky: An Intimate History of Shooting Stars.
His essays, poems and reviews have appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Iowa Review, Shenandoah, High Country News, Ecotone, Orion, Poetry, Western Humanities Review, and Science, among many other venues.
Cokinos lives with his partner, the writer Kathe Lison, by the Blacksmith Fork River in northern Utah's Cache Valley. He is a board member of the Bridgerland Audubon Society and HawkWatch International.
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and writer of nonfiction on nature and the environment.
Born in 1963 in Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, he studied at Indiana University at Bloomington (BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
1981) and at Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis is a private research university located in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1853, and named for George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all fifty U.S. states and more than 110 nations...
(MFA
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
1991). He taught at Kansas State University
Kansas State University
Kansas State University, commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, in the United States...
from 1991-2002. He also served as president of the Kansas Audubon Council from 1996-98.
He is now an associate professor of English at Utah State University
Utah State University
Utah State University is a public university located in Logan, Utah. It is a land-grant and space-grant institution and is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities....
and founding editor of Isotope: A Journal of Literary Nature and Science Writing.
In 2003, he was one of 10 national recipients of the Whiting Writers' Award, given annually to emerging writers of exceptional talent and promise. He is also the winner of the Sigurd Olson Nature Writing Award, the Fine-Line Prize for Lyric Prose (from Mid-American Review), and the Glasgow Prize for an Emerging Writing of Nonfiction.
Cokinos is the winner of fellowships and grants from the American Antiquarian Society, the Utah Arts Council, and the National Science Foundation. In 2003-2004 he was a member of the Antarctic Search for Meteorites expedition for five weeks, as part of his research for The Fallen Sky: An Intimate History of Shooting Stars.
His essays, poems and reviews have appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Iowa Review, Shenandoah, High Country News, Ecotone, Orion, Poetry, Western Humanities Review, and Science, among many other venues.
Cokinos lives with his partner, the writer Kathe Lison, by the Blacksmith Fork River in northern Utah's Cache Valley. He is a board member of the Bridgerland Audubon Society and HawkWatch International.
Books
- Killing Seasons , poetry (Topeka: Woodley Press, 1993).
- Hope Is the Thing with Feathers: A Personal Chronicle of Vanished Birds, nonfiction (New York: Tarcher, 2000; Warner, 2001; Tarcher/Penguin, 2009, revised.)
- "The Fallen Sky: An Intimate History of Shooting Stars", (New York: Tarcher/Penguin, 2009).
Sources
Contemporary Authors Online. The Gale Group, 2007. PEN (Permanent Entry Number): 0000134622.External links
- Isotope magazine website
- Cokinos" author website
- "Prozac for the Planet: Can geoengineering make the climate happy? by Christopher Cokinos, American Scholar, Autumn 2010