Jennifer K. Sweeney is an American poet.

Life

Sweeney is the author of four poetry collections, ''Foxlogic, Fireweed'' (

Backwaters Press ''The Backwaters Press'' was a small press based in Omaha, Nebraska. It was a 501(c)(3) non-profit devoted to publishing poetry and literary fiction, with a special emphasis on the literature of Nebraska. The press was acquired in 2018 by The Univ ...

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, 2020) winner of the Backwaters Prize, ''Little Spells'' (

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 Huffi ...

, 2015), ''How to Live on Bread and Music'' (

Perugia Press Perugia Press is an American not-for-profit poetry press located in Florence, Massachusetts and founded in 1997 by Editor and Director Susan Kan. The press publishes one collection of poetry each year, by a woman poet chosen from its annual book c ...

, 2009), winner of the 2009 James Laughlin Award and the 2009 Perugia Press Prize. Her first collection, ''Salt Memory'' (Main Street Rag, 2006) won the 2006 Main Street Rag Poetry Award. Her poems have appeared in journals and magazines including ''Southern Review, Hunger Mountain, Crab Orchard, Spoon River'' and ''Passages North,'' where she won the ''2009 Elinor Benedict Poetry Prize.'' Her honors include a Cultural Equities Grant from the San Francisco Arts Commission and a residency from

Hedgebrook Hedgebrook is a rural retreat for women writers on Whidbey Island, Washington, founded in 1988. Hedgebrook's artist-in-residence program accepts up to 80 writers each year, who spend two to four weeks in residence working on their diverse writi ...

. Sweeney holds an M.F.A. from

Vermont College of Fine Arts Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) is a private graduate-level art school in Montpelier, Vermont. It offers Master's degrees in low-residency and residential programs. Its faculty includes Pulitzer Prize finalists, National Book Award winners, ...

and serves as assistant editor for ''DMQ Review.'' Born in 1973, she grew up in Tolland, Connecticut. After teaching in San Francisco for twelve years, she relocated to Kalamazoo, Michigan, with her husband, poet

Chad Sweeney Chad Sweeney (born 1970) is an American poet, translator and editor. Life Sweeney is the author of four books of poetry, ''Wolf's Milk: The Lost Notebooks of Juan Sweeney'' ( Forklift Books), ''Parable of Hide and Seek'' (Alice James Books 2010 ...

. She now lives in California.

Honors and awards

* 2019 Backwaters Prize in Poetry * 2009

James Laughlin Award The James Laughlin Award, formerly the Lamont Poetry Prize, is given annually for a poet's second published book; it is the only major poetry award that honors a second book. The award is given by the Academy of American Poets, and is noted as one ...

* 2009 Perugia Press Prize * 2006 Main Street Rag Poetry Award

Works

Poems online

A few poems at Poets.org/Academy of American Poets
* "Happy People"
Hunger Mountain
2009. * "How to Grow a Mushroom"
The Pedestal
Issue 51. * "How to Live on Bread and Music," "Comfort"

Summer 2008, 15. * "33 Umbrellas"

May 2007. * "How to Make Armor"

Issue 5. * "What Call," "How to Make a Game of Waiting"

Issue 8. * "The Bird Carver"
The Pedestal
Issue 35. * "Crooked Little Teeth," "The Game of Life"
The Adroit Journal
Issue 17.

Published works

* ''Foxlogic, Fireweed'' (

, 2020) * ''Little Spells'' (

, 2015) * ''How to Live on Bread and Music'' (Perugia Press, 2009) * ''Salt Memory'' (Main Street Rag Publications, 2006)

References

External links

* Reviews :
''The Pedestal Magazine'' > Archives > ISSUE THIRTY-SEVEN: Dec (06)- Feb (07) > Reviews > Review by JoSelle Vanderhooft of ''Salt Memory'' by Jennifer K. Sweeney
*Video/audio links :* "Of Gravity and Will"
Moe's Books
Berkeley, CA, August 2008. :* "Full Poetry Reading at Moe's"

Berkeley, CA, August 2008. :* "Apology," "Ode to a Banana Slug"

Issue 1, 2004. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sweeney, Jennifer K. 1973 births Living people Poets from Connecticut Poets from Michigan Vermont College of Fine Arts alumni American women poets 21st-century American poets 21st-century American women writers