Richard Lyons is an American 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...

, and teacher

Life

He graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst

University of Massachusetts Amherst

The University of Massachusetts Amherst is a public research and land-grant university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States and the flagship of the University of Massachusetts system...

, from the University of Arizona

University of Arizona

The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...

 with an M.F.A. in Creative Writing (1976–1979), and from the University of Houston

University of Houston

The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...

 with a Ph.D. in English/Creative Writing (1984–1991).

During 1979 and 1980, he taught at the University of Maryland

University of Maryland

When the term "University of Maryland" is used without any qualification, it generally refers to the University of Maryland, College Park.University of Maryland may refer to the following:...

, then at Rhodes College

Rhodes College

Rhodes College is a private, predominantly undergraduate, liberal arts college located in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Originally founded by freemasons in 1848, Rhodes became affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in 1855. Rhodes enrolls approximately 1,700 students pursuing bachelor's and master's...

. He teaches in the English Department at Mississippi State University

Mississippi State University

The Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science commonly known as Mississippi State University is a land-grant university located in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States, partially in the town of Starkville and partially in an unincorporated area...

 in Starkville, Mississippi

Starkville, Mississippi

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 21,869 people, 9,462 households, and 4,721 families residing in the city. The population density was 851.4 people per square mile . There were 10,191 housing units at an average density of 396.7 per square mile...

, since 1994.

His work appeared in The Nation, Poetry, The New Republic, The Paris Review, and The North American Review.

Awards

• YHMA/The Nation "Discovery" Award for Poetry in 1984
• Stele Ehrhardt Memorial and Culled Fellowship from the University of Houston in 1984
• Alan Cooling Scholarship in Poetry from the Broadleaf Writers' Conference in 1986
• Criterion Fellowship from Imprint, Inc., in 1987
• Peter I. B. Lavan Younger Poets Award from the Academy of American Poets in 1992.
• 1988 Devins Award winner, selected by Deborah Digges, for These Modern Nights
• 2000 James Dickey Contemporary Poets Series, selected by Richard Howard, for Hours of the Cardinal
• 2005 Washington prize, for Fleur Carnivore

Works

• Fleur Carnivore, The Word Works (January 1, 2006) ISBN 9780915380619
• Granite from Sugar Water