Russell Edson is an American

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...

, novelist, writer and illustrator, and the son of the cartoonist-screenwriter Gus Edson

Gus Edson

Gus Edson was an American cartoonist known for two popular, long running comic strips, The Gumps and Dondi....

.

He studied art early in life and attended the Art Students League as a teenager. He began publishing poetry in the 1960s. His honors as a poet include a Guggenheim fellowship

Guggenheim Fellowship

Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...

 and several fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Books

He has published numerous collections of prose poetry

Prose poetry

Prose poetry is poetry written in prose instead of using verse but preserving poetic qualities such as heightened imagery and emotional effects.-Characteristics:Prose poetry can be considered either primarily poetry or prose, or a separate genre altogether...

, short stories and fables, one novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

, The Song of Percival Peacock, and The Falling Sickness: A Book of Plays. His most recent book is See Jack (University of Pittsburgh Press

University of Pittsburgh Press

The University of Pittsburgh Press is a scholarly publishing house and a major American university press, part of the University of Pittsburgh. The university and the press are located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States....

, 2009).

He lives in Darien, Connecticut with his wife Frances.

Selected bibliography

Full-length prose poetry collections

• See Jack (University of Pittsburgh Press
  University of Pittsburgh Press
  The University of Pittsburgh Press is a scholarly publishing house and a major American university press, part of the University of Pittsburgh. The university and the press are located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States....
  
  , 2009)
• The Rooster's Wife: Poems (BOA Editions, Ltd.
  BOA Editions, Ltd.
  BOA Editions, Ltd. is an American independent, non-profit literary publishing company located in Rochester, New York, founded in 1976 by the late poet, editor and translator, A...
  
  , 2005)
• The Tormented Mirror (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2001)
• The Tunnel: Selected Poems of Russell Edson (Oberlin College Press, 1994)
• The Wounded Breakfast(Wesleyan University Press
  Wesleyan University Press
  Wesleyan University Press is a university press that is part of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. The Press is currently directed by Suzanna Tamminen, a published poet and essayist...
  
  , 1985)
• With Sincerest Regrets (Burning Deck Press, 1980)
• The Reason Why the Closet-Man Is Never Sad (Wesleyan University Press
  Wesleyan University Press
  Wesleyan University Press is a university press that is part of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. The Press is currently directed by Suzanna Tamminen, a published poet and essayist...
  
  , 1977)
• Edson's Mentality (OINK! Press, 1977)
• The Intuitive Journey and Other Works (Harper & Row, 1976)
• Gulping's Recital (Guignol Books, 1983)
• The Clam Theater (Wesleyan University Press, 1973)
• The Childhood Of An Equestrian (Harper & Row, 1973)
• Ceremonies in Bachelor Space (1951)

Chapbooks

• Wuck Wuck Wuck! (with linocut by Richard Mock, Red Ozier Press, 1984)

Novels

• The Song of Percival Peacock: A Novel (Coffee House Press
  Coffee House Press
  Coffee House Press is a nonprofit independent press based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The press’s goal is to "produce books that celebrate imagination, innovation in the craft of writing, and the many authentic voices of the American experience." It is widely considered to be among the top five...
  
  , 1992)

Short Stories & Fables

• Tick Tock: Short Stories (illustrated with woodcuts, Demitasse/Coffee House Press, 1992)
• What a Man Can See: Fables (with drawings by Ray Johnson, 1969)
• The Brain Kitchen: Writings and Woodcuts (Thing Press, 1965)
• The Very Thing That Happens: Fables and Drawings (New Directions Publishing, 1964)
• Appearances: Fables and Drawings (Thing Press, 1961)
• A Stone Is Nobody's: Fables and Drawings (Thing Press, 1961)

Plays

• The Falling Sickness: A Book of Plays (New Directions Publishing, 1975)

Honors and awards

• 1992 National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship
• 1981 National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship
• 1976 National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship
• 1974 Guggenheim Fellowship

External links

• Audio: Garrison Keillor's The Writer's Almanac": Poems by Russell Edson
• Biography & Poems: Russell Edson
• The Believer (March 2004) Why The Reader of Good Prose Poems Is Never Sad: An Appreciation of Russell Edson by Sarah Manguso
• Poems: Webdelsol > Featured Prose Poet: Russell Edson
• Review: Cricket Online: Corey Johnson review of The Rooster's Wife by Russell Edson