Merrill D. Gilfillan is an American writer of poetry, short fiction, and essays.

Life and work

Gilfillan was born and raised in Mount Gilead, Ohio

Mount Gilead, Ohio

Mount Gilead is a village in Morrow County, Ohio, United States.Mount Gilead's population was 3,290 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Morrow County and the center of population of Ohio. The village was established in 1832, eight years after white settlers arrived in the region...

, where his outdoorsman father (Merrill C. Gilfillan) worked as a naturalist for the state's Department of Natural Resources and helped inspire an early fascination with the natural world and its creatures. Gilfillan graduated in 1967 from the University of Michigan

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

. He attended the University of Iowa Writer's Workshop for two years, studying with 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...

, Anselm Hollo

Anselm Hollo

Anselm Paul Alexis Hollo is a Finnish poet and translator. He has lived in the United States since 1967.-Life and work:...

, and George Starbuck

George Starbuck

George Edwin Starbuck was an American poet of the neo-formalist school.-Life:...

, among others. He lived and worked in 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...

 for eight years and then moved to Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

, which serves as a base for frequent expeditions to the Great Plains

Great Plains

The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...

 and other regions of America from which he reports in essays, poetry, and short stories.

Books

Poetry

• Truck, Angel Hair Books, New York, 1970
• 9:15, Doones Press, Bowling Green, OH, 1970
• Skyliner, Blue Wind Press, Berkeley, 1974
• To Creature, Blue Wind Press, Berkeley, 1975
• Light Years: Selected Early Poems, Blue Wind Press, Berkeley, 1977
• River through Rivertown, The Figures, Great Barrington, MA, 1982
• Coppers and Blues, Plum Pit, Boulder, 1997
• On Heart River, Dayo, Denver, 1995
• Satin Street, Moyer Bell, Wakefield, RI, 1997
• The Seasons, Adventures in Poetry, New York | Boston, 2002
• Small Weathers, Qua Books, Jamestown, RI, 2004
• Undanceable, Flood Editions, Chicago, 2005
• Selected Poems 1965-2000, Adventures in Poetry, New York & Boston 2005 ISBN 0-97616122-2
• The Bark of the Dog, Flood Editions, Chicago 2010 ISBN 978-0-9819520-5-5

Essays

• Magpie Rising: Sketches from the Great Plains, Pruett | Vintage | Bison, 1988 | 1990 | 2003
• Burnt House to Paw Paw: Appalachian Notes, Hard Press, West Stockbridge, MA, 1997
• Chokecherry Places: Essays from the High Plains, Johnson Books, Boulder, 1998
• Rivers & Birds, Johnson Books, Boulder, 2003
• The Warbler Road, Flood Editions, Chicago, 2010 ISBN 978-0-9819520-4-8

Fiction

• Sworn Before Cranes, Crown, New York, 1994
• Grasshopper Falls, Hanging Loose, Brooklyn, 2000

Awards

• 1967, Major Hopwood Award
  Hopwood Award
  The Hopwood Awards are a major scholarship program at the University of Michigan, founded by Avery Hopwood.Under the terms of the will of Avery Hopwood, a prominent American dramatist and member of the Class of 1905 of The University of Michigan, one-fifth of Mr. Hopwood's estate was given to the...
  
   for poetry, University of Michigan
  University of Michigan
  The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
  
  
• 1989, PEN American Center
  PEN American Center
  PEN American Center , founded in 1922 and based in New York City, works to advance literature, to defend free expression, and to foster international literary fellowship. The Center has a membership of 3,300 writers, editors, and translators...
  
  Martha Albrand Award for First Nonfiction, for Magpie Rising