Cyrus Cassells (born 1957) is an American poet and professor.

Life and work

Cassells was born in

Dover, Delaware Dover () is the capital and second-largest city of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County and the principal city of the Dover, DE, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County and is part of ...

, grew up in the Mojave Desert north of Los Angeles, and began writing poetry in high school. He graduated in 1979 from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

with a degree in film and broadcasting, and landed a job creating poetry filmstrips in the film division of a publishing house, where he was working when poet Al Young called to tell him that his manuscript had been selected for publication from the 1981 National Poetry Series competition. He then went on to win the 1981 National Poetry Series competition. He has worked as a translator, film critic, actor, and teacher. Since 1998, he has taught poetry at

Texas State University Texas State University is a public research university in San Marcos, Texas. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has grown to the second largest university in the Greater Austin metropolitan area and the fifth largest university ...

in the MFA creative writing program. He lives in Austin. Cassells' collection ''More Than Peace and Cypresses'' (

Copper Canyon Press Copper Canyon Press is an independent, non-profit small press, founded in 1972 specializing exclusively in the publication of poetry. It is located in Port Townsend, Washington. Copper Canyon Press publishes new collections of poetry by both popu ...

), and his fifth book, ''The Crossed-Out Swastika,'' (2012) were published by Copper Canyon Press. He has won many awards including a 1995 Pushcart Prize, the

Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ literature.The awards were instituted i ...

, and the

William Carlos Williams Award The William Carlos Williams Award is given out by the Poetry Society of America for a poetry book published by a small press, non-profit, or university press. The award is endowed by the family and friends of Geraldine Clinton Little, a poet and ...

. His collection ''Soul Make A Path Through Shouting'' was nominated in 1994 for the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

in Poetry. Cassell's poems have appeared in numerous anthologies and in such journals as ''Ploughshares''

Indiana Review ''Indiana Review'' (''IR'') is a small, student-run literary magazine at Indiana University Bloomington. Founded in 1976, it has a circulation of about 2,000. A biannual review, ''IR'' publishes essays, fiction, graphic arts, interviews, poetr ...

AGNI Agni (English: , sa, अग्नि, translit=Agni) is a Sanskrit word meaning fire and connotes the Vedic fire deity of Hinduism. He is also the guardian deity of the southeast direction and is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu ...

, The Literati Quarterly,

Boston Review ''Boston Review'' is an American quarterly political and literary magazine. It publishes political, social, and historical analysis, literary and cultural criticism, book reviews, fiction, and poetry, both online and in print. Its signature form ...

Icarus In Greek mythology, Icarus (; grc, Ἴκαρος, Íkaros, ) was the son of the master craftsman Daedalus, the architect of the labyrinth of Crete. After Theseus, king of Athens and enemy of Minos, escaped from the labyrinth, King Minos suspe ...

, and

Callaloo Callaloo (many spelling variants, such as kallaloo, calaloo, calalloo, calaloux or callalloo; ) is a popular Caribbean vegetable dish. There are many variants across the Caribbean, depending on the availability of local vegetables. The main in ...

. He is out as

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

Poetry collections

* ''Is There Room for Another Horse on Your Horse Ranch?'' (Four Way Books, 2024) *''To The Cypress Again and Again: Tribute to Salvador Espriu'' (

Stephen F. Austin State University Press The Stephen F. Austin State University Press (also known as SFA Press) is a university press affiliated with Stephen F. Austin State University, located in Nacogdoches, Texas. The press publishes both non-fiction and literary worksmost of which f ...

, 2023) (writer and translator) * ''The World That the Shooter Left Us''(Four Way Books, 2022) * ''More Than Watchmen at Daybreak'' (Nine Mile Books, 2020) * ''Still Life with Children: Selected Poems of Francesc Parcerisas'' (Stephen F. Austin State University Press, 2019) (translator) * ''The Gospel according to Wild Indigo'' (Southern Illinois University Press, 2018) * ''The Crossed-Out Swastika'' (

, 2012) * ''More Than Peace and Cypresses'' (

, 2004) * ''Beautiful Signor'' (Copper Canyon Press, 1997) * ''Soul Make a Path Through Shouting'' (Copper Canyon Press, 1994) * ''The Mud Actor'' (Holt, Rhinehart and Winston, 1982)

Honors and awards

*2022 Poet Laureate Fellowship from The Academy of American Poets *2021 Presidential Excellence Award from Texas State University *2021 Poet Laureate of Texas * 2020 Civitella Rainieri Fellowship * 2020 The Texas Institute of Letters Souerette Diehl Fraser Award for Best Translated Book for ''Still Life with Children: Selected Poems of Francesc Parcerisas'' * 2019 Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship * 2019 Pulitzer Prize nomination for Criticism for cultural reviews in ''The Washington Spectator'' * 2019 Finalist, The National Poetry Series for ''Is There Room For Another Horse on Your Horse Ranch?'' * 2019 Artist in Residence, Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of Taos, New Mexico * 2019 Resident Fellowship, Mabel Dodge Foundation * 2019 Finalist, NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Work of Literature—Poetry for ''The Gospel according to Wild Indigo'' * 2019 Finalist, Texas Institute of Letters Helen C. Smith Memorial Award for Best Book of Poetry for ''The Gospel according to Wild Indigo'' * 2019 Finalist, Balcones Prize for Outstanding Poetry Book of 2018 for ''The Gospel according to Wild Indigo'' * 2014 Resident Fellowship, Lannan Foundation, Marfa, Texas * 2012 Finalist, Balcones Prize for Outstanding Poetry Book of 2012 for ''The Crossed-Out Swastika'' * 2008 Resident Fellowship, Lannan Foundation, Marfa, Texas * 2006 Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship * 2005 NEA Literature Fellowship in Poetry * 2004 ''Library Journal'' Best Poetry Books of the Year for ''More Than Peace and Cypresses'' * 2004 Lannan Literary Selection Book for ''More Than Peace and Cypresses'' * 1997 Finalist, Bay Area Book Reviewers Award for ''Beautiful Signor'' * 1997

for ''Beautiful Signor'' * 1997 Sister Circle Book Award for ''Beautiful Signor'' * 1995 Pushcart Prize * 1995 Finalist, Lenore Marshall Prize for ''Soul Make a Path through Shouting'' * 1994 ''Publishers Weekly'' Best Poetry Books of the Year for ''Soul Make a Path through Shouting'' * 1994

for ''Soul Make a Path Through Shouting'' * 1993 Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship * 1993 Lannan Literary Award - Poetry * 1992 Peter I.B. Lavan Younger Poet Award * 1992 Finalist, AWP Poetry Prize for ''Soul Make a Path through Shouting'' * 1986 NEA Literature Fellowship in PoetryNEA Literature Fellowships: Forty Years of Supporting American Writers > NEA Literature Fellowships > Creative Writers
* 1984 Artist in Residence, Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of Taos, New Mexico * 1983 Finalist, Bay Area Book Reviewers Award finalist for ''The Mud Actor'' * 1982-83 Resident Fellowship, Fine Arts Work Center, Provincetown, Massachusetts * 1981 National Poetry Series Prize for ''The Mud Actor''

References

External links

Academy of American Poets > Poet: Cyrus Cassells Bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cassells, Cyrus 1957 births Living people American male poets 20th-century American poets English-language poets Texas State University faculty Poets from Delaware Stanford University alumni People from Dover, Delaware Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry winners 21st-century American poets African-American poets LGBT African Americans American LGBT poets LGBT people from Delaware American gay writers Gay academics 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers 20th-century African-American writers 21st-century African-American writers 21st-century LGBT people African-American male writers Gay poets