Allison Joseph (born 1967) is an American
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
, editor and professor. She is author of eight full-length poetry collections, most recently, ''Confessions of a Bare-Faced Woman'' (Red Hen Press, 2018).
Biography
Born in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, England, to parents of
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
n heritage, Allison Joseph grew up in
Toronto, Ontario
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, Canada, and the
Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
, New York.
She graduated from
Kenyon College
Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio. It was founded in 1824 by Philander Chase. Kenyon College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
Kenyon has 1,708 undergraduates enrolled. Its 1,000-acre campus is se ...
with a B.A., and from
Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Campuses
Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI.
*Indiana Universit ...
with an M.F.A.
She teaches at
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Southern Illinois University (SIU or SIUC) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois. Founded in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. The university enrolls students from all 50 s ...
(SIUC), and is Director of the Young Writers Workshop at SIUC, which she founded in 1999: a four-day summer program for high school students. Many of SIUC's creative writing faculty and graduate students are involved with the workshop, and the student participants come from several states. In 1995, she was one of the founding editors of
Crab Orchard Review' as the magazine's poetry editor and has worked as editor-in-chief since August 2001. She is also the publisher and founder of No Chair Press. She lives in
Carbondale, Illinois
Carbondale is a city in Jackson and Williamson Counties, Illinois, United States, within the Southern Illinois region informally known as "Little Egypt". The city developed from 1853 because of the stimulation of railroad construction into the ...
. Joseph will be teaching at the Poetry Seminar for
The Frost Place
The Frost Place is a museum and nonprofit educational center for poetry located at Robert Frost's former home on Ridge Road in Franconia, New Hampshire, United States. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
...
in August 2021.
For more than thirty years, Joseph was married to fellow poet Jon Tribble, with whom she co-founded ''
Crab Orchard Review
Southern Illinois University (SIU or SIUC) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois. Founded in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. The university enrolls students from all 50 s ...
''. Tribble died in October 2019.
Honors and awards
* 2020 Winner of the Independent Press Award, Small Book Category for ''Smart Pretender'' (Finishing Line Press, 2019)
* 1992
John C. Zacharis First Book Award
* 2009 Aquarius Press Legacy Award
* Literary Award from the Illinois Arts Council
* Breadloaf Writers' Conference Fellowship
* Sewanee Writers' Conference Fellowship
* Academy of American Poets prize
* Ruth Lilly Fellowship
* Associated Writing Programs Prize
Published works
Full-length poetry collections
*''Confessions of a Barefaced Woman.''
Red Hen Press
Red Hen Press is an American non-profit press located in Pasadena, California, and specializing in the publication of poetry, literary fiction, and nonfiction. The press is a member of the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses, and was a final ...
. 2018. .
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Chapbook collections
*''The Last Human Heart.'' Diode Editions, 2020. .
*''Smart Pretender.'' Finishing Line Press, 2019. .
*''Corporal Muse.''
Sibling Rivalry Press
Sibling Rivalry Press is a small press publishing house based in Little Rock, Arkansas founded by Bryan Borland in 2010. It features both online and print components as well as the non-profit SRP Foundation, which financially supports the arts.
...
, 2018. .
Anthology publications
* ''New Sister Voices: Poetry by American Women of African Descent''
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References
External links
No Chair PressThe Rondeau RoundupInterview with Allison Joseph by Marilyn Davis, Interview: ''Perspectives'', Spring 2003.
Interview: ''Blackbird'', January 13, 2006.
''Callaloo'', Volume 19, Number 2, Spring 1996, pp. 461–472
''Starting Today'', March 6, 2009
Poem: ''Valparisio Poetry Review''
Author Page: Mayapple Press - Allison Joseph Audio Reading: ''Blackbird'' Archive.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, Allison
1967 births
Living people
African-American poets
American women poets
Indiana University alumni
Kenyon College alumni
People from Carbondale, Illinois
British emigrants to Canada
Southern Illinois University Carbondale faculty
Writers from Illinois
Writers from New York City
Formalist poets
21st-century American poets
21st-century American women writers
21st-century African-American women writers
21st-century African-American writers
20th-century African-American people
20th-century African-American women