Richard Shelton (June 24, 1933 – November 29, 2022) was an American writer, poet and emeritus Regents Professor of 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 ...

. Shelton was born in

Boise, Idaho Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown are ...

on June 24, 1933. He wrote nine books of poetry; his first collection of poems, ''The Tattooed Desert,'' won the

International Poetry Forum The International Poetry Forum (IPF) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1966 by Samuel John Hazo. The IPF has hosted poetry readings by over 800 poets and performers at the Carnegie Lecture Hall, Heinz Hall, and other public venues in Pittsbur ...

's U.S. Award. His 1992 memoir ''Going Back to Bisbee'', a

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

Notable Book was selected for the ''One Book Arizona'' program in 2007. Shelton also won the ''

Western States Book Award Western States Book Award honored notable works of fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and translation written and published in the Western United States. The award was given annually from 1984 until 2002. Lifetime-achievement awards were also p ...

'' for Creative Nonfiction in 1992 for ''Going Back to Bisbee''. In 2000, Shelton received a $100,000 grant from the

Lannan Foundation The Lannan Literary Awards are a series of awards and literary fellowships given out in various fields by the Lannan Foundation. Established in 1989, the awards are meant "to honor both established and emerging writers whose work is of exceptional ...

to complete two books. His poems and prose pieces have appeared in more than two hundred magazines and journals including ''

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 Paris Review ''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published works by Jack Kerouac, Philip ...

'', and ''

The Antioch Review ''The Antioch Review'' is an American literary magazine established in 1941 at Antioch College in Ohio. The magazine was published on a quarterly basis. One of the oldest continuously published literary magazines in the United States prior to it b ...

''. They have been translated into Spanish, French, Swedish, Polish, and Japanese. In 1974, Shelton established a writer's workshop at the

Arizona State Prison There are currently 48 state prisons, geographically grouped into 14 complexes and two correctional treatment facilities, for state prisoners in the U.S. state of Arizona. This number does not include federal prisons, detention centers for the U.S ...

, and a number of books of prose and poetry written by men in Shelton's prison workshops have been published, including the writing of authors

Jimmy Santiago Baca Jimmy Santiago Baca (born January 2, 1952) is an American poet, memoirist, and screenwriter from New Mexico. Early life and education Baca was born in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, in 1952. Abandoned by his parents at the age of two, he lived ...

and Ken Lamberton. Shelton was directing three prison writers' workshops in three units of the Arizona State Prison. His last book, ''Crossing the Yard: Thirty Years as a Prison Volunteer'' is about this experience. It won the 2007 ''Southwest Books of the Year'' award. Shelton died on November 29, 2022, at the age of 89.Acclaimed Arizona Author and Poet dies at 89
/ref>

References

External links

Author's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shelton, Richard 1933 births 2022 deaths Writers from Arizona Writers from Boise, Idaho University of Arizona faculty

References

Further reading

External links