Katy Lederer
Encyclopedia
Katherine "Katy" Lederer is an American poet and author of the memoir Poker Face: A Girlhood Among Gamblers.
Lederer is the daughter of bestselling non-fiction author Richard Lederer
and the sister of world-class poker players Howard Lederer
and Annie Duke
. She graduated from St. Paul's School
in Concord
, New Hampshire
, where her father was on the English faculty.
Lederer later attended the University of California at Berkeley, from which she received her BA in English and anthropology. After graduating in 1995, Lederer moved to Las Vegas
to study poker with her siblings, and was subsequently accepted to the Iowa Writers' Workshop
on an Iowa Arts Fellowship.
While at Iowa, Lederer founded the zine
Explosive, which was published in a limited edition of 300 with hand-printed covers by the artist and writer David Larsen. The tenth and final issue of Explosive was published in 2006. From 1998-1999, she was the editor of the Poetry Project Newsletter out of the Poetry Project at St. Mark’s Church in the Bowery
. Lederer continues to publish limited-edition books and chapbooks under the Spectacular Books imprint, and also serves as a Poetry Editor of Fence magazine
.
After completing her studies at Iowa in 1998, Lederer moved to New York City
, where she worked for psychoanalyst Arnold Cooper
. After this, she worked as a coordinator of the Barnard New Women Poets program. In 1999, she signed a contract with Crown Books
to write a memoir about her family’s life in gambling, Poker Face: A Girlhood Among Gamblers.
Lederer made her poetry debut in 2002 with the collection Winter Sex. Poet D. A. Powell
described the poems in the collection “as leaps of faith, fibrillating in the dark world with a kinetic energy that rises out of erotic desire.” Her memoir, Poker Face: A Girlhood Among Gamblers was published in 2003. It was chosen as a Barnes & Noble
Discover Great New Writers selection, and was named a Best Nonfiction Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly
and one of eight Best Books of the Year by Esquire Magazine.
From 2002 to 2008, Lederer worked at a quantitative hedge fund in midtown Manhattan, which provided much of the inspiration for the pieces in her most recent poetry collection, The Heaven-Sent Leaf. The title of both the book and the opening poem is taken from the second half of Goethe’s Faust
and describes paper money. Other poems in the collection reference the works of John Kenneth Galbraith
, Nietzsche, and Edith Wharton
.
Lederer is the daughter of bestselling non-fiction author Richard Lederer
Richard Lederer
Richard Lederer is an American author, speaker, and teacher best known for his books on word play and the English language and his use of oxymorons...
and the sister of world-class poker players Howard Lederer
Howard Lederer
Howard Henry Lederer is an American professional poker player and brother of poker professional Annie Duke, and author and poet Katy Lederer. On September 20, 2011, the U.S...
and Annie Duke
Annie Duke
Annie Duke is a professional poker player and author who won a bracelet in the 2004 World Series of Poker $2,000 Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better Event and was the winner of the 2004 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions, where she earned the Winner-Take-All prize of $2,000,000...
. She graduated from St. Paul's School
St. Paul's School (Concord, New Hampshire)
St. Paul's School is a highly selective college-preparatory, coeducational boarding school in Concord, New Hampshire affiliated with the Episcopal Church. The school is one of only six remaining 100% residential boarding schools in the U.S. The New Hampshire campus currently serves 533 students,...
in Concord
Concord, New Hampshire
The city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, where her father was on the English faculty.
Lederer later attended the University of California at Berkeley, from which she received her BA in English and anthropology. After graduating in 1995, Lederer moved to Las Vegas
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
to study poker with her siblings, and was subsequently accepted to the Iowa Writers' Workshop
Iowa Writers' Workshop
The Program in Creative Writing, more commonly known as the Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, is a highly regarded graduate-level creative writing program in the United States...
on an Iowa Arts Fellowship.
While at Iowa, Lederer founded the 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....
Explosive, which was published in a limited edition of 300 with hand-printed covers by the artist and writer David Larsen. The tenth and final issue of Explosive was published in 2006. From 1998-1999, she was the editor of the Poetry Project Newsletter out of the Poetry Project at St. Mark’s Church in the Bowery
Bowery
Bowery may refer to:Streets:* The Bowery, a thoroughfare in Manhattan, New York City* Bowery Street is a street on Coney Island in Brooklyn, N.Y.In popular culture:* Bowery Amphitheatre, a building on the Bowery in New York City...
. Lederer continues to publish limited-edition books and chapbooks under the Spectacular Books imprint, and also serves as a Poetry Editor of Fence magazine
Fence magazine
Fence is a print and online literary publication containing both original work and critical and journalistic coverage of what may be largely termed "experimental" or "avant garde" material...
.
After completing her studies at Iowa in 1998, Lederer moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where she worked for psychoanalyst Arnold Cooper
Arnold Cooper
Dr. Arnold Cooper is the Tobin-Cooper Professor Emeritus in Consultation-Liaison psychiatry at the Weill Cornell Medical College and the Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic. He is a supervising and training analyst at the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research.Dr...
. After this, she worked as a coordinator of the Barnard New Women Poets program. In 1999, she signed a contract with Crown Books
Crown Books
Crown Books Corporation was a bookseller headquartered in Lake Arbor, an unincorporated community in Prince George's County, Maryland, near Largo and Upper Marlboro. It was founded in the Washington, D.C., metro area by Robert Haft in 1977...
to write a memoir about her family’s life in gambling, Poker Face: A Girlhood Among Gamblers.
Lederer made her poetry debut in 2002 with the collection Winter Sex. Poet D. A. Powell
D. A. Powell
-Life and career:Powell lived in various places growing up, then graduated high school from Lindhurst High School in Linda, California. He then worked in a number of jobs before eventually settling in Santa Rosa, California, where he attended Sonoma State University. He earned a bachelor's degree...
described the poems in the collection “as leaps of faith, fibrillating in the dark world with a kinetic energy that rises out of erotic desire.” Her memoir, Poker Face: A Girlhood Among Gamblers was published in 2003. It was chosen as a Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble, Inc. is the largest book retailer in the United States, operating mainly through its Barnes & Noble Booksellers chain of bookstores headquartered at 122 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District in Manhattan in New York City. Barnes & Noble also operated the chain of small B. Dalton...
Discover Great New Writers selection, and was named a Best Nonfiction Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
and one of eight Best Books of the Year by Esquire Magazine.
From 2002 to 2008, Lederer worked at a quantitative hedge fund in midtown Manhattan, which provided much of the inspiration for the pieces in her most recent poetry collection, The Heaven-Sent Leaf. The title of both the book and the opening poem is taken from the second half of Goethe’s Faust
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...
and describes paper money. Other poems in the collection reference the works of John Kenneth Galbraith
John Kenneth Galbraith
John Kenneth "Ken" Galbraith , OC was a Canadian-American economist. He was a Keynesian and an institutionalist, a leading proponent of 20th-century American liberalism...
, Nietzsche, and Edith Wharton
Edith Wharton
Edith Wharton , was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, short story writer, and designer.- Early life and marriage:...
.
External links
- Official website
- Profile in The New Yorker's Talk of the Town
- Interview with Matt Borondy in "Identity Theory"
- Interview with Kurt Andersen on NPR's "Studio 360"
- Interview with Anne Strainchamps on NPR's "To the Best of Our Knowledge"
- Interview with Tess Vigeland on NPR's "Marketplace"
- Interview with Canadian Public Broadcasting's "As It Happens"
- Katy Lederer's Author Page at Wave Books