Neil Shepard
Encyclopedia
Neil Shepard is an American poet, essayist, professor of creative writing, and literary magazine editor. He has a BA from University of Vermont, MFA from Colorado State University, and Ph.D. from Ohio University. He has taught at Louisiana State University, Rider University (NJ) and, for many years, at Johnson State College (VT). He currently teaches in the low-residency MFA writing program at Wilkes University
(PA) and is Senior Editor of the literary magazine Green Mountains Review
. Shepard also founded and directed for eight years the Writers Program at the Vermont Studio Center
. He has published three books of poetry, the latest, This Far from the Source (Mid-List Press, 2006), and his poems and essays appear in such magazines as Antioch Review, AWP Chronicle, Boulevard, Colorado Review, Denver Quarterly, Harvard Review, New American Writing, New England Review, North American Review, Ontario Review, Paris Review, Shenandoah, Small Press Reviews, Southern Review, and TriQuarterly.
Other influences on Shepard's poetry include his many years playing piano and guitar; his love of jazz (bebop and post‑bebop), soul, and classical music; world‑wide treks in the mountains, from China to New Zealand to Norway to Switzerland to the American Rockies; constant forays into the natural world; amateur birding; summers along the Maine coast; long residence in northern New England; year-long sojourns in Shanghai, China (1991), the Marquesas Islands in the South Pacific (1993), and France (2003).
His marriage to Kate Riley, linguistic anthropologist and fiction writer, introduced Shepard to the South Pacific, French language and French colonial culture. He accompanied Riley to the Marquesas Islands, where she conducted her fieldwork on language and culture, and eventually Shepard wrote the Marquesan poems that appear in his second book, I'm Here Because I Lost My Way.
The birth of his only daughter, Anna Riley‑Shepard (b. 1995), has also deeply affected his work. A section of poems called “Birth Announcements” appears in Shepard's third book, This Far from the Source.
I’m Here Because I Lost My Way (Mid-List, 1998)
This Far from the Source (Mid-List, 2006).
Wilkes University
Wilkes University is a private, non-denominational American university located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It has over 2,200 undergraduates and over 2,200 graduate students...
(PA) and is Senior Editor of the literary magazine Green Mountains Review
Green Mountains Review
Green Mountains Review is a literary journal that publishes biannually out of Johnson State College in Vermont and is headed by founder and senior editor, Neil Shepard.Past contributors of note include Agha Shahid Ali, Jacob M...
. Shepard also founded and directed for eight years the Writers Program at the Vermont Studio Center
Vermont Studio Center
The Vermont Studio Center is a non-profit organization located in the town of Johnson in the U.S. state of Vermont. VSC conducts the largest fine arts and writing residency program in the U.S., with a significant population of international artists in residency...
. He has published three books of poetry, the latest, This Far from the Source (Mid-List Press, 2006), and his poems and essays appear in such magazines as Antioch Review, AWP Chronicle, Boulevard, Colorado Review, Denver Quarterly, Harvard Review, New American Writing, New England Review, North American Review, Ontario Review, Paris Review, Shenandoah, Small Press Reviews, Southern Review, and TriQuarterly.
Poetic Influences
Shepard's first creative writing teacher was David Huddle, poet and short story writer at the University of Vermont. Shepard studied with Bill Tremblay for his Master's work at Colorado State University and with Stanley Plumly, Wayne Dodd, and Paul Nelson for his doctoral work at Ohio University.Other influences on Shepard's poetry include his many years playing piano and guitar; his love of jazz (bebop and post‑bebop), soul, and classical music; world‑wide treks in the mountains, from China to New Zealand to Norway to Switzerland to the American Rockies; constant forays into the natural world; amateur birding; summers along the Maine coast; long residence in northern New England; year-long sojourns in Shanghai, China (1991), the Marquesas Islands in the South Pacific (1993), and France (2003).
His marriage to Kate Riley, linguistic anthropologist and fiction writer, introduced Shepard to the South Pacific, French language and French colonial culture. He accompanied Riley to the Marquesas Islands, where she conducted her fieldwork on language and culture, and eventually Shepard wrote the Marquesan poems that appear in his second book, I'm Here Because I Lost My Way.
The birth of his only daughter, Anna Riley‑Shepard (b. 1995), has also deeply affected his work. A section of poems called “Birth Announcements” appears in Shepard's third book, This Far from the Source.
Poetry
Scavenging the Country for a Heartbeat (First Book Award, Mid-List Press, 1993)I’m Here Because I Lost My Way (Mid-List, 1998)
This Far from the Source (Mid-List, 2006).