Rachel Todd Wetzsteon (; November 25, 1967 – December 24/25?, 2009) was 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 ...

Life

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 ...

, New York, the daughter of editor and critic Ross Wetzsteon, she graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

in 1989 where she studied with

Marie Borroff Marie Edith Borroff (September 10, 1923 – July 5, 2019) was an American poet, translator, and the Sterling Professor of English emerita at Yale University. Life Borroff was born in New York City in 1923, the daughter of professional musicians ...

and

John Hollander John Hollander (October 28, 1929 – August 17, 2013) was an American poet and literary critic. At the time of his death, he was Sterling Professor Emeritus of English at Yale University, having previously taught at Connecticut College, Hunter ...

. She graduated from

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

with an MA, and from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

with a Ph.D. She taught at

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

. She lived in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and went on to teach at

William Paterson University William Paterson University, officially William Paterson University of New Jersey (WPUNJ), is a public university in Wayne, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Founded in 1855 and was named after American ju ...

and the Unterberg Poetry Center of the Ninety-Second Street Y. Her work appeared in many publications including ''The New Yorker'', ''The Paris Review'', ''The New Republic'', ''The Nation'', and ''The Village Voice''. She was poetry editor of ''The New Republic''. Wetzsteon committed suicide on Dec. 24 or early on the 25th, 2009. Since 2010, a writing prize has been offered in her memory in the Columbia University English Department. Since 2014, the William Paterson University English Department's in-house literary journal, ''Map Literary'', has produced ''The Rachel Wetzsteon Chapbook Award '' every two years."Rachel Wetzsteon Chapbook Award"
''MapLiterary''

Awards

* 2001

Witter Bynner Poetry Prize The Witter Bynner Poetry Prize was established by the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters in 1980 to support the work of a young poet. It is named for poet Witter Bynner. The prize was discontinued in 2003. It is not to be confused ...

from the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...

* Ingram Merrill grant * 1993

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 ...

, for ''Other Stars''

Works

"Gold Leaves"; "Five-Finger Exercise", ''THE CORTLAND REVIEW'', ISSUE 32, June 2006

"At the Zen Mountain Monastery", ''Very Like a Whale'', September 7, 2006
*

Poetry

* ''The Other Stars'' (Penguin, 1994) * ''Home and Away'' (Penguin, 1998) * ''Sakura Park'' (Persea, 2006) * ''Silver Roses'' (Persea, 2010)

Anthologies

* Mark Jarman and David Mason, eds. (1996). Rebel Angels: 25 Poets of the New Formalism. Story Line Press. * Gerald Costanzo and Jim Daniels, eds. (2000). American Poetry: The Next Generation. Carnegie Mellon University Press. *

Criticism

*

* (reprint CRC Press, 2007) *
"Marvellous Sapphics", ''Poetry Society: "Crossroads"'', Fall 1999

Editor

* ''Virginia Woolf, Night and Day'' (Barnes and Noble Classics, 2005) *

References

External links

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 ...

'', December 31, 2009
"Rachel Wetzsteon, poet mixed melancholy, wit"
''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'', January 2, 2010
"E-Verse is deeply saddened by the death of the poet Rachel Wetzsteon", ''E-Verse Radio''"Rachel Wetzsteon dead", ''Eratosphere''
''The Best American Poetry'', January 8, 2010
"Home and Away." The Paris Review sessions, Issue 143, Summer 1997
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wetzsteon, Rachael William Paterson University faculty 1967 births 2009 suicides Yale University alumni Barnard College faculty Johns Hopkins University alumni Columbia University alumni American women poets 20th-century American poets 20th-century American women writers The New Republic people The Village Voice people American women academics 2009 deaths 21st-century American women Suicides in New York City Female suicides