Diann Blakely
Encyclopedia
Diann Blakely is an American poet
, essayist, and reviewer. Graduating with a B.A. in art history
from the University of the South in 1979, she subsequently received an M.A. in literature from Vanderbilt University
in 1980 and an M.F.A. from Vermont College in 1989. She has taught at Belmont University
, Harvard University
, Vanderbilt University
, and served as senior instructor and the first poet-in-residence at the Harpeth Hall School
in Nashville, Tennessee
. A Robert Frost Fellow at Bread Loaf, she was a Dakin Williams Fellow at the Sewanee Writers’ Conference.
Her first volume of poetry, Hurricane Walk, was published under the name Diann Blakely Shoaf in 1992 and included among the St. Louis Post Dispatchs ten best verse collections of the year. Her second book, Farewell, My Lovelies, published in 2000 and influenced by "noir
" shading, was listed as a Choice of the Academy of American Poets' Book Club. Her third volume, Cities of Flesh and the Dead, won Elixir Press's 7th annual publication prize after being distinguished by the Poetry Society of America
's Alice Fay di Castagnola Award, given for a year's best manuscript-in-progress. Anthologized in several volumes, including Best American Poetry 2003 and Pushcart Prize Anthologies XIX and XX, Blakely is currently at work on a new manuscript entitled Rain in Our Door: Duets with Robert Johnson.
A former poetry editor at the Antioch Review
, Blakely has recently contributed reviews to that journal as well as BookPage, Chapter 16: Tennessee Humanities Online, Harvard Review, Nashville Scene / Village Voice Media, Option, and Swampland. She lives south of Savannah, Georgia
, with her husband, the author
and music writer Stanley Booth
.
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...
, essayist, and reviewer. Graduating with a B.A. in art history
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
from the University of the South in 1979, she subsequently received an M.A. in literature from Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
in 1980 and an M.F.A. from Vermont College in 1989. She has taught at Belmont University
Belmont University
Belmont University is a private, coeducational, liberal arts university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. It is the largest Christian university in Tennessee and the second largest private university in the state, behind nearby Vanderbilt University.-Belmont Mansion:Belmont Mansion...
, Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
, and served as senior instructor and the first poet-in-residence at the Harpeth Hall School
Harpeth Hall School
Harpeth Hall School is an all-girls private college preparatory school for grades 5-12 in Nashville, Tennessee.-Ward-Belmont:Harpeth Hall’s history dates back to 1865 with the founding of Ward Seminary for Young Ladies...
in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. A Robert Frost Fellow at Bread Loaf, she was a Dakin Williams Fellow at the Sewanee Writers’ Conference.
Her first volume of poetry, Hurricane Walk, was published under the name Diann Blakely Shoaf in 1992 and included among the St. Louis Post Dispatchs ten best verse collections of the year. Her second book, Farewell, My Lovelies, published in 2000 and influenced by "noir
Noir
Noir is the French word for black. It may refer to:- People :* Noir , Danish Dj & Producer. Owner of Noir Music...
" shading, was listed as a Choice of the Academy of American Poets' Book Club. Her third volume, Cities of Flesh and the Dead, won Elixir Press's 7th annual publication prize after being distinguished by the Poetry Society of America
Poetry Society of America
The Poetry Society of America is a literary organization founded in 1910 by poets, editors, and artists including Witter Bynner. It is the oldest poetry organization in the United States. Past members of the have included such renowned writers as Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Edna St. Vincent...
's Alice Fay di Castagnola Award, given for a year's best manuscript-in-progress. Anthologized in several volumes, including Best American Poetry 2003 and Pushcart Prize Anthologies XIX and XX, Blakely is currently at work on a new manuscript entitled Rain in Our Door: Duets with Robert Johnson.
A former poetry editor at the Antioch Review
Antioch Review
The Antioch Review is an American literary magazine established in 1941 at Antioch College in Ohio. One of the oldest continuously published literary magazines in the United States, it publishes fiction, essays and poetry from both emerging and established authors.The magazine continues to publish...
, Blakely has recently contributed reviews to that journal as well as BookPage, Chapter 16: Tennessee Humanities Online, Harvard Review, Nashville Scene / Village Voice Media, Option, and Swampland. She lives south of Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
, with her husband, the author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and music writer Stanley Booth
Stanley Booth
Stanley Booth is an American music journalist. Booth has written extensively about important music figures, including Keith Richards, Otis Redding, Janis Joplin, James Brown, Elvis Presley, Gram Parsons, B.B. King, and Al Green...
.
Awards
- Pushcart PrizePushcart PrizeThe Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are invited to nominate up to 6 works they have featured....
(1994, 1995) - Poetry Society of AmericaPoetry Society of AmericaThe Poetry Society of America is a literary organization founded in 1910 by poets, editors, and artists including Witter Bynner. It is the oldest poetry organization in the United States. Past members of the have included such renowned writers as Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Edna St. Vincent...
's Alice Fay di Castagnola Award (1999)
Selected Publications
- Cities of Flesh and the Dead (Elixir Press, 2008)
- Farewell, My Lovelies (Story Line Press, 2000)
- Hurricane Walk (BOA Editions, Ltd., 1992)
Poems
- Ten Poems at storySouth
- Afterwords (IM William Matthews) at The Best American Poetry
- Bad Blood at Verse Daily
- Dead Shrimp Blues at The Chronicle of Higher Education
- Two Poems at IU Northwest: Plath Profiles
Anthologies
- Whatever Remembers Us: An Anthology of Alabama Poetry (Negative Capability Press, 2007)
- Best American Poets 2003 (Scribner, 2003)
- Orpheus and Company: Contemporary Poems on Greek Mythology (UPNE, 1999)
- The Movies: Texts, Receptions, Exposures (University of Michigan Press, 1997)
- Pushcart Prize Anthologies XIX and XX (Pushcart Press, 1996 and 1997)
- Lights, Camera, Poetry!: American Movie Poems, The First Hundred Years (Mariner Books, 1996)
- Homewords (University of Tennessee Press, 1986)
Reviews and essays
- "The New Black" at The Best American Poetry
- "Ave Atque Vale: William Matthews by Diann Blakely" at The Best American Poetry
- 'Women of the New Gen: Refashioning Poetry' at Poets.org
Option Magazine
- Notes on the State of Southern Poetry, Etc.: Crossings, Pt. 1
- Notes on the State of Southern Poetry, Etc.: Crossings, Pt. 2
- Notes on the State of Southern Poetry, Etc.: Crossings, Pt. 3
Swampland
Nashville Scene
External Links
- Author's website
- James Calemine on Blakely
- Archives: Diann Blakely (Nashville Scene)
- Ringing Endorsements: Missing Parsons
- "The Approaching 100th Anniversary of the Harlem Renaissance (Part 1)." Welcome to Harlem. June 28, 2011.
- Phebe Davidson, "Keepers: A Review of Adcock, Meek, Kennedy and Blakely". Asheville Poetry Review. Issue 19; Vol. 16, No. 1 (2009).
- "Cities of Flesh and the Dead, by Diann Blakely". Elixir Press Catalog.
- Julie Kane, "Diann Blakely. Cities of Flesh and the Dead. Elixir Press". Prairie Schooner: University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Winter 2009.
- "From gay Confederates to men in space, Southern Festival of Books explores the world between covers". Nashville Scene. October 8, 2009.
- Al Maginnes, "The Brands of Immortality Offered: Al Maginnes on Diann Blakely's Cities of Flesh and the Dead". Gently Read Literature. March 1, 2009.
- "About Cities of Flesh and the Dead by Diann Blakely". Verse Daily, 2008.
- Jennifer Horne, "Cities of Flesh and the Dead". Alabama Writers' Forum, December 2008.
- "Diann Blakely - Cities of Flesh and the Dead". Lit Magic. September 2008.
- "Small Press Spotlight: Diann Blakely". National Book Critics Circle. August 29, 2008.
- Greil Marcus, "Real Life Rock Top 10". Salon. May 28, 2002.
- Dan Albergotti, "Fareweil, My Lovelies". First Draft: The Journal of the Alabama Writers' Forum. Vol. 7, No. 3 (Fall 2000), p. 13.
- Marc Stengel, "Listening After Music: Poet Sings the Blues". Nashville Scene. September 8, 1998.