Mary Ruefle
Encyclopedia
Mary Ruefle is an American
poet
, essayist, and professor. She has published eleven collections of poetry, most recently, Selected Poems (Wave Books, 2010). Her debut collection of prose, The Most Of It was published by Wave Books in 2008.
She has been widely published in magazines and journals including The American Poetry Review, Verse Daily, The Believer, Harper's Magazine, and The Kenyon Review, and in anthologies including Best American Poetry, Great American Prose Poems (2003), American Alphabets: 25 Contemporary Poets (2006), and The Next American Essay (2002).
She has received a National Endowment for the Arts
fellowship, a Whiting Writer's Award, a Guggenheim fellowship, a Frost Place residency, a Lannan Foundation residency, and an Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Her poems are featured in American Alphabets: 25 Contemporary Poets (2006) and many other anthologies. In 2011, her Selected Poems was awarded the William Carlos Williams Award
by The Poetry Society of America.
In describing her poetry, the poet Tony Hoagland has said, "Her work combines the spiritual desperation of Dickinson with the rhetorical virtuosity of Wallace Stevens. The result (for those with ears to hear) is a poetry at once ornate and intense; linguistically marvelous, yes, but also as visceral as anything you are likely to encounter."
The daughter of a military officer, Ruefle was born outside Pittsburgh in 1952, but spent her early life traveling around the U.S. and Europe. She graduated from Bennington College
in 1974 with a degree in Literature. She currently lives in Vermont and teaches in the MFA in Writing program at Vermont College of Fine Arts
and is a visiting professor at the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop
.
Short Story Collections
Non-Fiction
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
poet
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 professor. She has published eleven collections of poetry, most recently, Selected Poems (Wave Books, 2010). Her debut collection of prose, The Most Of It was published by Wave Books in 2008.
She has been widely published in magazines and journals including The American Poetry Review, Verse Daily, The Believer, Harper's Magazine, and The Kenyon Review, and in anthologies including Best American Poetry, Great American Prose Poems (2003), American Alphabets: 25 Contemporary Poets (2006), and The Next American Essay (2002).
She has received a National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
fellowship, a Whiting Writer's Award, a Guggenheim fellowship, a Frost Place residency, a Lannan Foundation residency, and an Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Her poems are featured in American Alphabets: 25 Contemporary Poets (2006) and many other anthologies. In 2011, her Selected Poems was awarded the William Carlos Williams Award
William Carlos Williams Award
The William Carlos Williams Award is given out by the Poetry Society of America for a poetry book published by a small press, non-profit, or university press....
by The Poetry Society of America.
In describing her poetry, the poet Tony Hoagland has said, "Her work combines the spiritual desperation of Dickinson with the rhetorical virtuosity of Wallace Stevens. The result (for those with ears to hear) is a poetry at once ornate and intense; linguistically marvelous, yes, but also as visceral as anything you are likely to encounter."
The daughter of a military officer, Ruefle was born outside Pittsburgh in 1952, but spent her early life traveling around the U.S. and Europe. She graduated from Bennington College
Bennington College
Bennington College is a liberal arts college located in Bennington, Vermont, USA. The college was founded in 1932 as a women's college and became co-educational in 1969.-History:-Early years:...
in 1974 with a degree in Literature. She currently lives in Vermont and teaches in the MFA in Writing program at Vermont College of Fine Arts
Vermont College of Fine Arts
Vermont College of Fine Arts offers four distinct graduate programs, awarding Master of Fine Arts degrees in Visual Art, Writing, Writing for Children & Young Adults and Graphic Design. The student to faculty ratio at VCFA is 4-to-1.. The faculty and alumni of VCFA have won many literary awards,...
and is a visiting professor at the University of 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...
.
Published works
Full-length Poetry Collections- Selected Poems (Wave BooksWave BooksWave Books is an independent poetry press based in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 2005, joining forces with Western Massachusetts-based poetry publisher Verse Press , and has published over fifty books, including works by Joshua Beckman, Dara Wier, Matthew Rohrer, Eileen Myles, Tyehimba...
, 2010) (2011 William Carlos Williams AwardWilliam Carlos Williams AwardThe William Carlos Williams Award is given out by the Poetry Society of America for a poetry book published by a small press, non-profit, or university press....
) - Indeed I Was Pleased with the World (Carnegie Mellon University Press, 2007)
- A Little White Shadow (Wave BooksWave BooksWave Books is an independent poetry press based in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 2005, joining forces with Western Massachusetts-based poetry publisher Verse Press , and has published over fifty books, including works by Joshua Beckman, Dara Wier, Matthew Rohrer, Eileen Myles, Tyehimba...
, 2006) - Tristimania (Carnegie Mellon University Press, 2004)
- Apparition Hill (CavanKerry Press, 2002)
- Among the Musk Ox (Carnegie Mellon University Press, 2002)
- Post Meridian (Carnegie Mellon University Press, 1999)
- The Adamant (Carnegie Mellon University Press, 1989)
- Memling's Veil (University of Alabama Press, 1982)
- Life Without Speaking (University of Alabama Press, 1987)
Short Story Collections
- The Most of It (Wave Books, 2008)
Non-Fiction
- Madness, Rack, and Honey Collected Lectures (forthcoming from Wave BooksWave BooksWave Books is an independent poetry press based in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 2005, joining forces with Western Massachusetts-based poetry publisher Verse Press , and has published over fifty books, including works by Joshua Beckman, Dara Wier, Matthew Rohrer, Eileen Myles, Tyehimba...
, 2012)
Sources
- Library of Congress Online Catalog > Mary Ruefle
- Academy of American Poets > Mary Ruefle Bio
- Ploughshares Authors > Mary Ruefle
- Poetry Foundation > Mary Ruefle
External links
- Mary Ruefle's Website, featuring erasure work
- Mary Ruefle's Author Page at Wave Books
- The Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor > A Certain Swirl by Mary Ruefle
- Verse Daily > Mary Ruefle: Speak, Zero
- Boston Review > Review by Kathleen Rooney of The Most of It > Mar/Apr 2009
- The Constant Critic > Review of Apparition Hill > 11/02/03
- Pool: A Journal of Poetry > Mary Ruefle: Ballad
- Video: UC - Berkeley Webcast: Mary Ruefle > Lunch Poems > 12/06/02
- Video: UCTV - Mary Ruefle: Lunch Poems" > 09/22/03
- Harper's Magazine > Mary Ruefle: The Bench