Joan Larkin (born April 16, 1939 in Boston) 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 wri ...

and playwright. She was active in the small press lesbian feminist publishing explosion in the 1970s, co-founding the independent publishing company Out & Out Books. She is now in her fourth decade of teaching writing. The

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

writer

Donald Moffitt Donald Moffitt (July 20, 1931December 10, 2014) was an American author who wrote a number of science fiction novels. Most famous among these are ''The Genesis Quest'' and '' Second Genesis''. While he was the author of many titles under his own ...

was her brother.

Biography

Joan Larkin earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree at Swarthmore College, a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

degree in English at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

, and a Master of Fine Arts degree in

playwriting A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

at Brooklyn College. Larkin has served on the faculties of Brooklyn College, Sarah Lawrence College, and

Goddard College Goddard College is a progressive education private liberal arts low-residency college with three locations in the United States: Plainfield, Vermont; Port Townsend, Washington; and Seattle, Washington. The college offers undergraduate and gra ...

, and as Distinguished Visiting Poet at Columbia College Chicago. She is a member of the core faculty of the Master of Fine Arts Program in Poetry Writing at

Drew University Drew University is a private university in Madison, New Jersey. Drew has been nicknamed the "University in the Forest" because of its wooded campus. As of fall 2020, more than 2,200 students were pursuing degrees at the university's three sch ...

. Larkin has also participated in institutions and theater companies as a visiting instructor (poet-in-residence) at West Side YMCA Writers Community in New York for a couple of years (1994-1996). Additional to that, Larkin Co-founded Out & Out Books (1975), a Lesbian Poetry Archive, with her bibliography, "Housework" is located in Brooklyn, NY: Out & Out Books.

Works and themes

Joan Larkin's most recent poetry collection is ''My Body: New and Selected Poems'' (Hanging Loose Press, 2007). Previous books of poetry include ''Housework'', ''A Long Sound'', ''

Sor Juana Sor may refer to: * Fernando Sor (1778–1839), Spanish guitarist and composer * Sor, Ariège, a French commune * SOR Libchavy, a Czech bus manufacturer * Sor, Azerbaijan, a village * Sor, Senegal, an offshore island * Sor River, a river in the ...

's Love Poems'' (translated with

Jaime Manrique Jaime Manrique (born 16 June 1949) is a bilingual Colombian American novelist, poet, essayist, educator, and translator. His work is a representation of his cultural upbringing and heritage mixed with the flavors of his education in English. A pri ...

), and ''Cold River''. Her writing includes ''The Hole in the Sheet'', a Klezmer musical farce, and two books of daily meditations in the Hazelden recovery series: ''If You Want What We Have'' and ''Glad Day''. ''The Living'', her verse play about AIDS, has been produced at festivals in Boston and New York.

Literary prizes

Larkin is the 2011 recipient of the Academy of American Poets Fellowship. She has also received the

Poetry Society of America The Poetry Society of America is a literary organization founded in 1910 by poets, editors, and artists. It is the oldest poetry organization in the United States. Past members of the society have included such renowned poets as Witter Bynner, Ro ...

's 2011

Shelley Memorial Award The Shelley Memorial Award of the Poetry Society of America, was established by the will of Mary P. Sears, and named after the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. The prize is given to a living American poet selected with reference to genius and need, and is ...

. Poet

Rigoberto González Rigoberto González (born July 18, 1970) is an American writer and book critic. He is an editor and author of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and bilingual children's books, and self-identifies in his writing as a gay Chicano. His most recent projec ...

is co-recipient of the award. She has also received the Publishing Triangle's 2008 Audre Lorde Award for Lesbian Poetry, for her book ''My Body: New and Selected Poems''. In addition, Joan Larkin has received 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 ...

for poetry twice, in 1988 (for ''Gay and Lesbian Poetry in Our Time'', with Carl Morse) and in 1997 (for ''Cold River''). In the 1970s, she co-founded the independent small press Out & Out Books and co-edited the anthologies ''Amazon Poetry'' and ''Lesbian Poetry'' (with

Elly Bulkin Elly Bulkin (born December 17, 1944) is an American writer. A founding editor of two nationally distributed periodicals: '' Conditions'' and ''Bridges: A Journal for Jewish Feminists and Our Friends.'' ''Bridges'' mission statement explains that th ...

). Her anthology of coming out stories, ''A Woman Like That'', was nominated for a

Publishing Triangle The Publishing Triangle, founded in 1988 by Robin Hardy, is an American association of gay men and lesbians in the publishing industry. They sponsor an annual National Lesbian and Gay Book Month, and have sponsored the annual Triangle Awards pro ...

award and a

for nonfiction in 2000. She served as poetry editor for the first three years of the queer literary journal ''Bloom''. She is co-editor, with David Bergman, of the Living Out autobiography series at the

University of Wisconsin Press The University of Wisconsin Press (sometimes abbreviated as UW Press) is a non-profit university press publishing peer-reviewed books and journals. It publishes work by scholars from the global academic community; works of fiction, memoir and p ...

. In addition to Larkin's

s (1989), her awards include fellowships in poetry and playwriting from the

Massachusetts Cultural Council Massachusetts ( Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' E ...

(1995),

New York Foundation for the Arts The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is an independent 501(c)(3) charity, funded through government, foundation, corporate, and individual support, established in 1971. It is part of a network of national not-for-profit arts organizations ...

, and the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

(19787-1988), as well as a Creative Artists public service grant from the New York State Council of the Arts in 1976 and in 1980.

Bibliography

Poetry

* ''Housework'' (Out & Out Books, 1975) * ''A Long Sound'' (Granite Press, 1986) * ''Cold River'' (Painted Leaf Press, 1997) * ''Sor Juana's Love Poems/ Poemas de Amor'' (in Spanish and English, Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz, Joan Larkin,

; Painted Leaf Press, 1997, , reprinted, University of Wisconsin Press, 2003) * ''My Body: New and Selected Poems'' (Hanging Loose Press, 2007)

Prose

* ''If You Want What We Have: Sponsorship Meditations'' (Hazelden, 1998) * ''Glad Day: Daily Meditations for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender People'' (Hazelden, 1998)

Collections edited

* ''Amazon Poetry: An Anthology'' (with Elly Bulkin, Out & Out Books, 1975) * '' Lesbian Poetry: An Anthology'' (with Elly Bulkin, Persephone Press, 1981) * ''Gay and Lesbian Poetry in Our Time: An Anthology'' (with Carl Morse, St. Martin's Press, 1988) * ''A Woman Like That: Lesbian and Bisexual Writers Tell their Coming Out Stories'' (Avon/Bard Books, 1999) * ''Living Out: Gay and Lesbian Autobiographies'' (with David Bergman and Raphael Kadushin, Painted Leaf Press) * ''Women Writers Calendar (1982-1984) * ''Blood & Tears: Poems for Matthew Shepard'' (with Scott Gibson, Painted Leaf Press, 1999)

Recordings

* ''A Sign I Was Not Alone'' (LP recording of poets

Adrienne Rich Adrienne Cecile Rich ( ; May 16, 1929 – March 27, 2012) was an American poet, essayist and feminist. She was called "one of the most widely read and influential poets of the second half of the 20th century", and was credited with bringing "the ...

, Honor Moore,

Audre Lorde Audre Lorde (; born Audrey Geraldine Lorde; February 18, 1934 – November 17, 1992) was an American writer, womanist, radical feminist, professor, and civil rights activist. She was a self-described "black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet," wh ...

, Joan Larkin, New York: Out & Out Books, 1980)

Limited editions

* ‘’A Garden,’’ letterpress broadside (Center for Book Arts, NYC, 2005) * ‘’Waste Not,’’ letterpress broadside (Bridge Press, Vermont, 2005) * ‘’Boston Piano,’’ Belladonna limited edition poetry chapbook, June 2003 * ‘’Hard Differences,’’ letterpress broadside, American Populist Poetry Series, 1980

Plays: staged readings, productions

* ''The AIDS Passion'', staged reading, Mount Holyoke College, April 1995 * ''The Living'', staged reading, Huntington Theater Company, Boston, December 1996; full production, Brooklyn Arts Exchange, June 2000 * ''The Hole in the Sheet'', book and lyrics for a klezmer musical farce, music by Steve Elson (currently seeking production) * ''Wiretap'', Jean Cocteau Repertory Theater, NYC, December 2001, staged reading by Brooklyn College Theater Department * ''Brother Dust'', a hip-hop version of

Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or c ...

' ''

Antigone In Greek mythology, Antigone ( ; Ancient Greek: Ἀντιγόνη) is the daughter of Oedipus and either his mother Jocasta or, in another variation of the myth, Euryganeia. She is a sister of Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene.Roman, L., & R ...

'' (currently seeking production)

External links

Joan Larkin's website

Joan Larkin's blog

"Photo", poem by Larkin, thethepoetry.com

Publishing Triangle Award winners, 2008

The Academy of American Poets: My Body

The Academy of American Poets: Gay and Lesbian Poetry in Our Time

Columbia College Chicago

Article in ''POZ'' magazine, November 2006

* ttp://hangingloosepress.com/ Hanging Loose Press
HarperCollins Publishers

{{DEFAULTSORT:Larkin, Joan 1939 births American educators Swarthmore College alumni Lesbian feminists Lesbian dramatists and playwrights Lesbian poets American lesbian writers American women poets 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American women dramatists and playwrights Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Poetry winners Living people American LGBT dramatists and playwrights LGBT people from Massachusetts American LGBT poets 20th-century American women writers Brooklyn College alumni Brooklyn College faculty 21st-century American women writers