Eileen Myles
Encyclopedia
Eileen Myles is an American
poet who has also worked in fiction, non-fiction, and theater.
She won a 2010 Shelley Memorial Award
.
s in Arlington, Massachusetts
and graduated from U. Mass (Boston)
in 1971.
Arriving in New York in 1974, Myles gave her first reading at CBGB
and attended workshops at St. Mark’s Poetry Project, studying alongside Alice Notley
, Ted Berrigan
, and Bill Zavatsky
.
She developed as a part of the poetry and queer art scene that developed in Manhattan's East Village
.
She worked as assistant to poet James Schuyler
; met Allen Ginsberg
at the Nuyorican Poets Café
.
Her first performances and theater pieces (Joan of Arc: a spiritual entertainment, Patriarchy, a play, Feeling Blue Pts. 1, 2 7 3 and Modern Art and Our Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz) at the St. Mark's Poetry Project, P.S. 122 and The WOW Café.
Myles has performed her work at colleges, performance spaces, and bookstores across North America
as well as in, Iceland
, Ireland
and Russia
. She lives in New York.
Myles's works include poetry, fiction, articles, plays and libretti, including: Hell (an opera with composer Michael Webster).
for President of the United States
. In the 1980s she was Artistic Director
of St. Mark's Poetry Project
. In 1997 and again in 2007 Eileen toured with Sister Spit
, a post-punk female performance troupe.
Myles is Professor Emerita of Writing and Literature, and taught at University of California, San Diego
from 2002 to 2007. She continues to teach during summers at the Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado
, and was the Hugo Writer at University of Montana for the spring of 2010. She contributes to several publications, recently including Parkett, aNother Magazine, the Believer
, H.O.W journal and Provincetown Arts. During summer 2009 she contributed regularly to the Poetry Foundation's "Harriet" blog.
The Importance of Being Iceland, published by Semiotext(e)
/ the MIT Press
in July 2009, is the first full volume of Myles's essays and art writing. It compiles a number of Myles's works, including the title essay's account of trips to Reykjavik in 1996 and 2007 to explore Icelandic poetry, art and queer identity in a global context. The volume also includes a series of conversations and essays about artists, including Daniel Day-Lewis
, Wakefield Poole
, Ntozake Shange
and Robert Smithson
.
has called Myles "the rock star of modern poetry", and Holland Cotter
in The New York Times
described her as "a cult figure to a generation of post-punk female writer-performers." Of her poetry book Sorry, Tree, the Chicago Review
wrote: "Her politics are overt, her physicality raw, yet it is the subtle gentle noticing in her poems that overwhelms."
In 2010, her novel Inferno won the Lambda Literary Award
for Best Lesbian Fiction.
song Hot Topic.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
poet who has also worked in fiction, non-fiction, and theater.
She won a 2010 Shelley Memorial Award
Shelley Memorial Award
The Shelley Memorial Award of more than $3,500, given out by the Poetry Society of America, was established by the will of the late Mary P. Sears, and named after the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. The prize is given to a living American poet selected with reference to genius and need. The selection is...
.
Early life and career
Eileen Myles grew up and attended Catholic schoolCatholic school
Catholic schools are maintained parochial schools or education ministries of the Catholic Church. the Church operates the world's largest non-governmental school system...
s in Arlington, Massachusetts
Arlington, Massachusetts
Arlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, six miles northwest of Boston. The population was 42,844 at the 2010 census.-History:...
and graduated from U. Mass (Boston)
University of Massachusetts Boston
The University of Massachusetts Boston, also known as UMass Boston, is an urban public research university and the second largest campus in the five-campus University of Massachusetts system. The university is located on on Harbor Point in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States...
in 1971.
Arriving in New York in 1974, Myles gave her first reading at CBGB
CBGB
CBGB was a music club at 315 Bowery at Bleecker Street in the borough of Manhattan in New York City.Founded by Hilly Kristal in 1973, it was originally intended to feature its namesake musical styles, but became a forum for American punk and New Wave bands like Ramones, Misfits, Television, the...
and attended workshops at St. Mark’s Poetry Project, studying alongside Alice Notley
Alice Notley
Alice Notley is an American poet. She was born in Bisbee, Arizona and grew up in Needles, California. She received a B.A. from Barnard College in 1967 and an M.F.A. from the Iowa Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa in 1969. She married poet Ted Berrigan in 1972, with whom she was active in...
, Ted Berrigan
Ted Berrigan
-Early life:Berrigan was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on November 15, 1934. After high school, he spent a year at Providence College before joining the U.S. Army in 1954 to serve in the Korean War. After three years in the Army, he finished his college studies at the University of Tulsa in...
, and Bill Zavatsky
Bill Zavatsky
Bill Zavatsky is an American poet, journalist, jazz pianist, and translator.Zavatsky has worked as a journalist; his articles have appeared in The New York Times Book Review and Rolling Stone....
.
She developed as a part of the poetry and queer art scene that developed in Manhattan's East Village
East Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
.
She worked as assistant to poet James Schuyler
James Schuyler
James Marcus Schuyler was an American poet whose awards include the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his 1980 collection The Morning of the Poem...
; met Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
at the Nuyorican Poets Café
Nuyorican Poets Café
The Nuyorican Poets Café is a non-profit organization in Alphabet City, Manhattan. It is a bastion of the Nuyorican art movement in New York City, USA, and has become a forum for poetry, music, hip hop, video, visual arts, comedy and theatre.-History:...
.
Her first performances and theater pieces (Joan of Arc: a spiritual entertainment, Patriarchy, a play, Feeling Blue Pts. 1, 2 7 3 and Modern Art and Our Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz) at the St. Mark's Poetry Project, P.S. 122 and The WOW Café.
Myles has performed her work at colleges, performance spaces, and bookstores across North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
as well as in, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. She lives in New York.
Myles's works include poetry, fiction, articles, plays and libretti, including: Hell (an opera with composer Michael Webster).
Professional life
In 1992 Myles conducted a female-led write-in campaignWrite-in candidate
A write-in candidate is a candidate in an election whose name does not appear on the ballot, but for whom voters may vote nonetheless by writing in the person's name. Some states and local jurisdictions allow a voter to affix a sticker with a write-in candidate's name on it to the ballot in lieu...
for President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
. In the 1980s she was Artistic Director
Artistic director
An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company, that handles the organization's artistic direction. He or she is generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization...
of St. Mark's Poetry Project
St. Mark's Poetry Project
The Poetry Project at St. Mark's Church was founded in 1966 in the East Village of Manhattan by the poet and translator Paul Blackburn, it has been a crucial venue for new and experimental poetries for over four decades....
. In 1997 and again in 2007 Eileen toured with Sister Spit
Sister Spit
Sister Spit is a lesbian-feminist spoken word and performance art collective based in San Francisco, signed to Mr. Lady Records. They formed in 1994 and disbanded in 2006. Founding members included Michelle Tea and Sini Anderson, Other members included Jane LeCroy and poet Eileen Myles...
, a post-punk female performance troupe.
Myles is Professor Emerita of Writing and Literature, and taught at University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
from 2002 to 2007. She continues to teach during summers at the Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
, and was the Hugo Writer at University of Montana for the spring of 2010. She contributes to several publications, recently including Parkett, aNother Magazine, the Believer
The Believer (magazine)
The Believer is a United States literary magazine that also covers other arts and general culture. Founded and designed in 2003 by the writer and publisher Dave Eggers, it is edited by Vendela Vida, Heidi Julavits and Ed Park...
, H.O.W journal and Provincetown Arts. During summer 2009 she contributed regularly to the Poetry Foundation's "Harriet" blog.
"The Importance of Being Iceland"
Semiotext(e)
Semiotext is an American independent publisher. It is widely credited for having introduced so-called "French Theory" to North America through its magazine issues and Foreign Agents series. In 2000, the MIT Press began distributing Semiotext, taking it over from the anarchist publishing collective...
/ the MIT Press
MIT Press
The MIT Press is a university press affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts .-History:...
in July 2009, is the first full volume of Myles's essays and art writing. It compiles a number of Myles's works, including the title essay's account of trips to Reykjavik in 1996 and 2007 to explore Icelandic poetry, art and queer identity in a global context. The volume also includes a series of conversations and essays about artists, including Daniel Day-Lewis
Daniel Day-Lewis
Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis is an English actor with both British and Irish citizenship. His portrayals of Christy Brown in My Left Foot and Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood won Academy and BAFTA Awards for Best Actor, and Screen Actors Guild as well as Golden Globe Awards for the latter...
, Wakefield Poole
Wakefield Poole
Wakefield Poole is an American dancer, choreographer, theatrical director, and pioneering film director in the gay pornography industry from the 1970s and 1980s....
, Ntozake Shange
Ntozake Shange
Ntozake Shange born October 18, 1948, is an American playwright, and poet. As a self proclaimed black feminist, much of the content of her work addresses issues relating to race and feminism....
and Robert Smithson
Robert Smithson
Robert Smithson was an American artist famous for his land art.-Background and education:Smithson was born in Passaic, New Jersey and studied painting and drawing in New York City at the Art Students League of New York....
.
Critical reception
Bust MagazineBust (magazine)
Bust is a bi-monthly United States-based women's lifestyle magazine. It was founded in 1993 by Debbie Stoller, Laurie Henzel, and Marcelle Karp.-Content:...
has called Myles "the rock star of modern poetry", and Holland Cotter
Holland Cotter
Holland Cotter is an art critic with the New York Times. In 2009, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Cotter was born in Connecticut and grew up in Boston, Massachusetts. He earned his A.B. from Harvard College in 1970, where he studied English literature under poet Robert Lowell and was an...
in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
described her as "a cult figure to a generation of post-punk female writer-performers." Of her poetry book Sorry, Tree, the Chicago Review
Chicago Review
The Chicago Review is a literary magazine published four times per year in the Humanities Division at the University of Chicago. It was founded in 1946. Three stories published in the Chicago Review have won the O. Henry Prize...
wrote: "Her politics are overt, her physicality raw, yet it is the subtle gentle noticing in her poems that overwhelms."
In 2010, her novel Inferno won the Lambda Literary Award
Lambda Literary Award
Lambda Literary Awards are awarded yearly by the US-based Lambda Literary Foundation to published works which celebrate or explore LGBT themes. Categories include Humor, Romance and Biography. To qualify, a book must have been published in the United States in the year current to the award...
for Best Lesbian Fiction.
In popular culture
She is mentioned in the lyrics of the Le TigreLe Tigre
Le Tigre is an American electroclash band, formed by Kathleen Hanna and Johanna Fateman in 1998. It also featured Sadie Benning from 1998 until 2001, and JD Samson for the rest of the group's run...
song Hot Topic.
External links
- Eileen Myles Homepage
- Eileen Myles blog
- "Myles", Electronic Poetry Center, University of Buffalo
- "The Rumpus Interview with Poetry Rock Star Eileen Myles", December 2, 2009
- "An Icelandic Personal Culture: An Interview with Eileen Myles", 3:AM Magazine January 2, 2009
- Eileen Myles on YouTube
- http://www.orbooks.com/our-books/inferno-a-poets-novel/ Inferno, OR Books, 2010
- Eileen Myles.net
- Eileen Myles's Author Page at Wave Books
- Eileen Myles on Myspace