Lee Upton (born June 2, 1953, St. Johns, Michigan) 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 ...

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

writer, and

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

. She earned a BA in

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

br>
a Master of Fine Arts, master of fine arts (MFA) at the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...

's Program for Poets & Writers, and a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

at the

State University of New York at Binghamton The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public research university with campuses in Binghamton, Vestal, and Johnson City, New York. It is one of the four university centers in the State ...

Life

She is the author of several books 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 ...

, and

literary criticism Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

, including ''The Muse of Abandonment'' (1998, Bucknell University Press), ''Civilian Histories'' (2000, University of Georgia Press), ''Undid in the Land of Undone'' (2007, New Issues/Western Michigan University Press), and ''The Guide to the Flying Island'' (2009, Miami University Press). She is a former professor of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

writer in residence Artist-in-residence, or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs which involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs which provide artists with space a ...

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 1832. The founders voted to name the college after General Laf ...

in Easton,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. In 1990, Upton collaborated with artist Ed Kerns and fellow poet Charles Molesworth on an exhibition of poetry and images at the

Williams Center The Williams Center is a facility for intramural and recreational sports at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater. Uses The college used the center to welcome the UW-W football team when it won the 2010 Division III national championship ...

Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in, and the county seat of, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River, a river tha ...

. Her work has appeared in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'', the '' New Republic'', ''

American Poetry Review ''The American Poetry Review'' (''APR'') is an American poetry magazine printed every other month on tabloid-sized newsprint. It was founded in 1972 by Stephen Berg and Stephen Parker in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The magazine's editor is Elizab ...

'', ''

Harvard Review ''Harvard Review'' is a biannual literary journal published by Houghton Library at Harvard University. History In 1986 Stratis Haviaras, curator of the Woodberry Poetry Room at Harvard University, founded a quarterly periodical called ''Erato''. ...

'', and ''DoubleTake''.

Awards

* 2008 Miami University Press Novella Prize * Lyric Poetry Award *

Writer Magazine/Emily Dickinson Award The Writer Magazine/Emily Dickinson Award is given once a year to a member of the Poetry Society of America "to honor the memory and poetry of Emily Dickinson, for a poem inspired by Dickinson though not necessarily in her style.""PSA Annual Awar ...

at the group’s 95th annual awards ceremony April 28, 2005 at

The New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. * 1988

National Poetry Series The National Poetry Series is an American literary awards program. Every year since 1979, the National Poetry Series has sponsored the publication of five books of poetry. Manuscripts are solicited through an annual open competition, judged and cho ...

Bibliography

Poetry collections

* ''The Day Every Day Is''. Ardmore, PA: Saturnalia Books, 2023. Recipient of the Saturnalia Books Poetry Prize. * ''Bottle the Bottles the Bottles the Bottles''. Cleveland: Cleveland State University Poetry Center, 2015. Winner of the Open Book Award. * ''Undid in the Land of Undone''. Kalamazoo: New Issues Press, 2007. ISBN 978-1-930974-72-2. * ''Civilian Histories''. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2000. ISBN 978-0-8203-2185-1. * ''Approximate Darling''. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1996. ISBN 978-0-8203-1811-0. * * ''No Mercy''. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1989. Winner of the National Poetry Series. ISBN 978-0-87113-339-7. Winner of the 1988 National Poetry Series. * ''The Invention of Kindness''. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1984. ISBN 978-0-8173-0197-2. *

Novels

Novellas

* Winner of the

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...

Novella Award

Short fiction collections

*''Visitations: Stories''. Yellow Shoe Fiction Series. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2017. Recipient of

Kirkus ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

Star; listed in “Best of the Indies 2017” and “Best Indie Books for December” by

; American Book Fest Best Book Awards finalist; “Distinguished Stories of 2017” by

Best American Short Stories The Best American Short Stories yearly anthology is a part of ''The Best American Series'' published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Since 1915, the BASS anthology has striven to contain the best short stories by some of the best-known writers in con ...

2018;

Pushcart Prize The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are ...

2018 notable story * Winner of the BOA Short Fiction Award; listed in “Best Books of 2014” by

; Paterson Prize in Fiction finalist

Nonfiction

* Winner of ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year Award * * * *

Libretto

* ''The Masque of Edgar Allan Poe'', composer Kirk O’Riordan, librettist Lee Upton. Performanced by University of Delaware Opera Theatre at

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...

on November 11, 2016 and University of Delaware Opera Theater at Williams Center for the Arts at

on November 13, 2016.

Collaborative Art Books

* ''Tying & Untying''. Lee Upton and

Jim Toia Jim Toia is an American studio artist and professor of art. Early life Toia was born in the U.S. state of New Jersey. He attended Lawrenceville School where he discovered an Amanita muscaria on the school grounds and researched its deadly attr ...

. Clinton, NJ: Lucia Press, 2012. * ''The Maid at the Pond''. Curlee Holton and Lee Upton. Experimental Printmaking Institute, 2006. * ''Omniscient Love''. Curlee Holton and Lee Upton. Experimental Printmaking Institute, 2005.

Selected anthologies

* * * *

References

External links

"Award-Winning Poet", ''Oberlin College'' "Lee Upton Biography", ''American Poetry''
* ttp://herecomeseverybody.blogspot.com/2005/01/photo-theodora-ziolkowski-lee-upton-is.html "Lee Upton", ''Here Comes Everybody'', January 25, 2005br>"Interview with Lee Upton", ''Adirondack Review''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Upton, Lee 1953 births Living people The New Yorker people University of Massachusetts Amherst MFA Program for Poets & Writers alumni People from St. Johns, Michigan