Claudia Keelan (b. 1959) is an American poet, writer, and professor. She received the Regents’ Creative Activities Award, at the University of Nevada, Los Vegas.

Life

Claudia Keelan is the author of seven collections of

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

, most recently ''We Step into the Sea: New and Selected Poems'' (Barrow Street, 2018). Her book of translations ''Truth of My Songs: Poems of the Trobairitz,'' from Omnidawn Press appeared in 2016. ''Ecstatic Emigre'' was published in the Poets on Poetry Series from

University of Michigan Press The University of Michigan Press is part of Michigan Publishing at the University of Michigan Library. It publishes 170 new titles each year in the humanities and social sciences. Titles from the press have earned numerous awards, including L ...

in 2018. Widely anthologized, Keelan was described by the late

Robert Creeley Robert White Creeley (May 21, 1926 – March 30, 2005) was an American poet and author of more than sixty books. He is usually associated with the Black Mountain poets, though his verse aesthetic diverged from that school. He was close with Char ...

as a poet who "keeps the faith for us all" (book cover endorsement of ''Utopic''). She is the editor of ''Interim,'' a print and on line journal specializing in poetry, translation, belle lettres and book reviews (www.interimpoetics.com) as well as the editor for The Test Site Poetry Series (University of Nevada Press). She lives in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

where she is a Barrick Distinguished Scholar. In 2017, she was part of a literary delegation to

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. She was a judge for the 2021 PEN literary awards.

Bibliography

Full-Length Poetry Collections * ''We Step into the Sea''New and Selected Poems (Barrow Street, 2018) * ''O, Heart'' (Barrow Street, 2014) * ''Missing Her'' (

New Issues Poetry & Prose New Issues Poetry & Prose is a literary press associated with Western Michigan University. It was founded by poet and Western Michigan University professor Herbert S. Scott. Editors have included poets William Olsen and Nancy Eimers. The Huffin ...

, 2009) * ''The Devotion Field'' (

Alice James Books Alice James Books is an American non-profit poetry press located in Farmington, Maine and affiliated with the University of Maine at Farmington. History and mission "Alice James Books was founded as a co-operative press in Cambridge, MA in 19 ...

, 2005 - Finalist, 2005

PEN Center USA PEN Center USA was a branch of PEN, an international literary and human rights organization. It was one of two PEN International Centers in the United States, the other being the PEN America in New York City. On March 1, 2018, PEN Center USA unifi ...

Award in Poetry) * ''Utopic'' (

, 2000

Beatrice Hawley Award The Alice James Award, formerly the Beatrice Hawley Award, is given annually by Alice James Books. The award includes publication of a book-length poetry manuscript and a cash prize (currently $2,000). The award was established by the press in 1986 ...

) * ''The Secularist'' (

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

, 1997 - Contemporary Poetry Series winner) * ''Refinery'' (

Cleveland State University Cleveland State University (CSU) is a public research university in Cleveland, Ohio. It was established in 1964 and opened for classes in 1965 after acquiring the entirety of Fenn College, a private school that had been in operation since 1923. ...

1994 - Cleveland State University Poetry Prize winner) Other Works * ''Ecstatic Émigré'' (

, 2018) Translation * ''Truth of My Songs: Poems of the Trobairitz,"'' (Omnidawn, 2015). Chapbooks * ''Of and among there was a locus(t)'' (Ahsahta Press, 2003)

Honors and awards

* 2015 Barrick Distinguished Scholar * 2010 Creative Achievement Award * 2007 Jerome Shestack Award, ''The American Poetry Review'' * 2001 Silver Pen Award''Friends Newsletter'', Sandra Macias, University of Nevada, Reno, (Fall 2001)
* 2000 Beatrice Hawley Award, Alice James Books for ''Utopic *1993 Robert D. Richardson Best Essay award for "Revising the Parade: Against the Poetry of Witness," ''

Denver Quarterly The ''Denver Quarterly'' (known as ''The University of Denver Quarterly'' until 1970) is an avant-garde literary journal based at the University of Denver. Founded in 1966 by novelist John Edward Williams. ''Publisher'' ''Denver Quarterly'' i ...

'' * 1997 ''''The Secularist'' nominated for the ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Award * 1992 grant from the Kentucky Foundation for Women * 1991 fellowship from the

Helene Wurlitzer Foundation Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico is an artist residency program in the artists' colony of Taos, New Mexico. The Foundation, which offers prize fellowships to painters, poets, sculptors, writers, playwrights, composers, photographers and ...

of New Mexico * 1990 Jesse Stuart Award for excellence in teaching

References

External links

“Continuous Acts”
Poetry Society of America
Apologue (1)
poets.org
A Brief Interview with Claudia Keelan
Omnidawn

* ttp://www.pw.org/content/interview_poet_claudia_keelan ''Range of the Possible: Conversations with Contemporary Poets'', Tod Marshall, Eastern Washington University Press, May 2002
''Donald Revell & Claudia Keelan - Las Vegas, NV'', Poets on Place, December 17, 2003

* ttp://magazine.unlv.edu/Issues/Summer07/30claudiakeelan.html UNLV Magazine, Summer, 2007
''Reading Between A & B'': Claudia Keelan - April 30, 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keelan, Claudia 1959 births Living people Iowa Writers' Workshop faculty Iowa Writers' Workshop alumni Poets from California American academics of English literature People from Anaheim, California American women poets Journalists from California American women non-fiction writers 21st-century American women