Richard Siken (born February 15, 1967) is a North-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 ...

, painter, and filmmaker. He is the author of the collection '' Crush'' (

Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous. , Yale Universi ...

, 2005), which won the

Yale Series of Younger Poets Competition The Yale Series of Younger Poets is an annual event of Yale University Press aiming to publish the debut collection of a promising American poet. Established in 1918, the Younger Poets Prize is the longest-running annual literary award in the Uni ...

in 2004. His second book of poems, ''War of the Foxes'', was published by

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 pop ...

in 2015.

Early life and education

Siken was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. He studied at and received a B.A. in psychology and later a Master of Fine Arts in poetry from the University of Arizona.

Career

In 2001, Siken co-founded Spork Press, where he continues to work as an editor. Siken received a Literature Fellowship in Poetry from 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 ...

, and his book ''Crush'' was awarded 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 "Gay Men's Poetry" in 2005, and the

Thom Gunn Award The Thom Gunn Award is an annual literary award, presented by Publishing Triangle to honour works of gay male poetry. First presented in 2001 as the Triangle Award for Gay Poetry, the award was renamed in memory of American poet Thom Gunn, the awa ...

from

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 ...

. The 1991 death of his boyfriend influenced his writing of the book. Siken's book ''War of the Foxes'' became a recipient of two residencies with the Lannan Residency Program, and a Lannan Literary Selection. Siken currently lives in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

. On March 19, 2019, Siken reported on his Facebook that he had recently suffered a stroke. On December 4th, 2020, he published his first post-stroke poem, "Real Estate" on poets.org after announcing it on his Facebook the day prior.

Awards

''Crush'' won the 2004 Yale Series of Younger Poets prize, selected by

Louise Glück Louise Elisabeth Glück ( ; born April 22, 1943) is an American poet and essayist. She won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature, whose judges praised "her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal". H ...

. It was also a finalist for the

National Book Critics Circle Award The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".Yale Series of Younger Poets Competition The Yale Series of Younger Poets is an annual event of Yale University Press aiming to publish the debut collection of a promising American poet. Established in 1918, the Younger Poets Prize is the longest-running annual literary award in the Uni ...

, 2004, for ''Crush'' *

National Book Critics Circle Award The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".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 ...

, 2006 * Thom Gunn Award, 2006 * Lannan Residency Program, Fall 2007 * Lannan Residency Program, Spring 2014 * Pushcart Prize * Two Arizona Commission on the Arts grants * National Endowment for the Arts fellowship

Bibliography

* '' Crush'' (

, 2005) , * ''War of the Foxes'' (

, 2015) ,

References

External links

Official Website

Profile of Richard Siken from ''Poetry'' magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Siken, Richard American male poets American gay writers Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry winners American LGBT poets Jewish American writers Living people Writers from Tucson, Arizona Yale Younger Poets winners Poets from Arizona 1967 births 21st-century American poets 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American Jews