Jeff Clark (poet)
Encyclopedia
Jeff Clark is an American poet and book designer.
. He studied at UC Davis and completed a Master of Fine Arts
in poetry at the Iowa Writer's Workshop. At Davis, Clark drummed for the band Buick, whose album Sweatertongue was released by Lather Records in 1992. He also drummed for the Popealopes, and is featured on their album Slowest Eye, released by Italy's Helter Skelter Records.
In 1995, he graduated from the Iowa workshop and moved to San Francisco, where he wrote poetry and edited a zine
, Faucheuse. He also worked for Wilsted & Taylor, a book design studio in Oakland, California
.
award. It was published by Sun and Moon Press in 1997, and reprinted in 2004 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
. John Yau, writing in Boston Review
, said that Clark evoked "a fragile, interior world largely lit by the moon, cheap paperbacks, and noir movies, a place in which predicaments and paradoxes abound." Farrar Straus Giroux also published Clark's second collection, Music and Suicide, which received the 2004 James Laughlin Award
. John Beer in Chicago Review said it was "most clearly an advance from his debut" though not "without missteps, lapses into a perfunctory pastiche of high decadence."
In June 2006, Clark and Geoffrey G. O'Brien
released 2A, an experimental collaboration in poetry.
In 2009, Turtle Point Press published Ruins, a limited edition book that Clark wrote, illustrated, and designed.
studio, Quemadura, is based in Ypsilanti, Michigan. He has composed book covers and interiors for, among others, Flood Editions, Leon Works, Kelsey Street Press, the Jargon Society, Essay Press, Wake Forest University Press, Ahsahta Press, Dalkey Archive
, Wave Books, Farrar Straus Giroux, Black Square Editions, City Lights Books, the Ulrich Museum of Art, and MOCAD (Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit).
In January 2008, Publisher's Weekly wrote: "Clark has become one of poetry's most prolific and influential book designers, whose distinctive treatments—characterized by spacious covers; hip, angular fonts; varied elements that elide into one another—a frequent poetry reader could recognize from a distance."
Clark lives with poet Christine Hume
and their daughter in Ypsilanti.
Biography
Clark grew up in southern CaliforniaSouthern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
. He studied at UC Davis and completed a Master of Fine Arts
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...
in poetry at the Iowa Writer's Workshop. At Davis, Clark drummed for the band Buick, whose album Sweatertongue was released by Lather Records in 1992. He also drummed for the Popealopes, and is featured on their album Slowest Eye, released by Italy's Helter Skelter Records.
In 1995, he graduated from the Iowa workshop and moved to San Francisco, where he wrote poetry and edited a zine
Zine
A zine is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier....
, Faucheuse. He also worked for Wilsted & Taylor, a book design studio in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
.
Writing
Clark's first book, The Little Door Slides Back, was a 1996 winner of the National Poetry SeriesNational Poetry Series
The National Poetry Series is an American literary awards program.Every year since 1979 it has sponsored the publication of five books of poetry...
award. It was published by Sun and Moon Press in 1997, and reprinted in 2004 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Farrar, Straus and Giroux is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger W. Straus, Jr. and John C. Farrar. Known primarily as Farrar, Straus in its first decade of existence, the company was renamed several times, including Farrar, Straus and Young and Farrar, Straus and Cudahy...
. John Yau, writing in Boston Review
Boston Review
Boston Review is a bimonthly American political and literary magazine. The magazine covers, specifically, political debates, literature, and poetry...
, said that Clark evoked "a fragile, interior world largely lit by the moon, cheap paperbacks, and noir movies, a place in which predicaments and paradoxes abound." Farrar Straus Giroux also published Clark's second collection, Music and Suicide, which received the 2004 James Laughlin Award
James Laughlin Award
The James Laughlin Award, formerly the Lamont Poetry Prize, is given annually for a poet's second published book; it is the only major poetry award that honors a second book...
. John Beer in Chicago Review said it was "most clearly an advance from his debut" though not "without missteps, lapses into a perfunctory pastiche of high decadence."
In June 2006, Clark and Geoffrey G. O'Brien
Geoffrey G. O'Brien
Geoffrey G. O'Brien is an American poet. Educated at Harvard University and the University of Iowa, O'Brien has taught at Brooklyn College, The University of Iowa Writers' Workshop and has been the Distinguished Poet in Residence at St. Mary's College of California and the Holloway Lecturer in the...
released 2A, an experimental collaboration in poetry.
In 2009, Turtle Point Press published Ruins, a limited edition book that Clark wrote, illustrated, and designed.
Book Design
Clark's book designBook design
Book design is the art of incorporating the content, style, format, design, and sequence of the various components of a book into a coherent whole....
studio, Quemadura, is based in Ypsilanti, Michigan. He has composed book covers and interiors for, among others, Flood Editions, Leon Works, Kelsey Street Press, the Jargon Society, Essay Press, Wake Forest University Press, Ahsahta Press, Dalkey Archive
Dalkey Archive
Dalkey Archive may refer to:#the novel The Dalkey Archive by Flann O'Brien, or#the not-for-profit publisher called Dalkey Archive Press....
, Wave Books, Farrar Straus Giroux, Black Square Editions, City Lights Books, the Ulrich Museum of Art, and MOCAD (Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit).
In January 2008, Publisher's Weekly wrote: "Clark has become one of poetry's most prolific and influential book designers, whose distinctive treatments—characterized by spacious covers; hip, angular fonts; varied elements that elide into one another—a frequent poetry reader could recognize from a distance."
Clark lives with poet Christine Hume
Christine Hume
-Life:Hume received her BA, MFA, and PhD from Penn State University, Columbia University, and University of Denver, respectively. She has taught at Illinois Wesleyan University and is currently an Associate Professor of English at Eastern Michigan University, where she also hosts an internet radio...
and their daughter in Ypsilanti.