Sally Van Doren 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 ...

and visual artist from

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

. She was awarded the 2007

Walt Whitman Award The Academy of American Poets is a national, member-supported organization that promotes poets and the art of poetry. The nonprofit organization was incorporated in the state of New York in 1934. It fosters the readership of poetry through outreach ...

from the Academy of American Poets for her first collection of poems. Her third book of poems, ''Promise,'' was released in August 2017.

Background

Sally Van Doren was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. Her father, William M. Van Cleve, is a lawyer and chairman of the

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

-based law firm

Bryan Cave Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP is an international law firm with 25 offices worldwide. Bryan Cave was headquartered in St Louis, Missouri. Berwin Leighton Paisner was headquartered in London. In 2018, Bryan Cave and Berwin Leighton Paisner me ...

. She is a graduate of

Phillips Academy ("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness , address = 180 Main Street , city = Andover , state = Ma ...

and

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

and received an M.F.A. from the

University of Missouri-St. Louis A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. She met her husband, John Van Doren, son of quiz show celebrity

Charles Van Doren Charles Lincoln Van Doren (February 12, 1926 – April 9, 2019) was an American writer and editor who was involved in a television quiz show scandal in the 1950s. In 1959 he testified before the U.S. Congress that he had been given the corre ...

and grandson of

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 ...

professor

Mark Van Doren Mark Van Doren (June 13, 1894 – December 10, 1972) was an American poet, writer and critic. He was a scholar and a professor of English at Columbia University for nearly 40 years, where he inspired a generation of influential writers and thin ...

at Phillips Academy. The two married in 1986. She has taught at the 92nd Street Y in New York, creative writing for the St. Louis Public Schools,

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

and the St. Louis County Juvenile Detention Center. She curates the Sunday Workshop Series for the St. Louis Poetry Center. She is an associate editor at Boulevard and an advisory editor at

December December is the twelfth and final month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is also the last of seven months to have a length of 31 days. December got its name from the Latin word ''decem'' (meaning ten) because it was or ...

. She lives in

and

Cornwall, Connecticut Cornwall is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,567 at the 2020 census. History The town of Cornwall, Connecticut, is named after the county of Cornwall, England. The town was incorporated in 1740, near ...

. Van Doren's work has appeared in: ''American Poet, Barrow Street'', ''Boulevard'', ''Cincinnati Review'', ''Colorado Review'', ''December'', ''Hubbub'', ''LIT'', ''LiveMag, Margie'', ''The Moth, The New Republic,'' ''Parthenon West Review'', ''Poetry Daily'', ''Pool'', ''River Styx, The Southern Review,'' ''Southwest Review,'' ''2River and Verse Daily''. Her poem, "The Sense Series," was the text for a multimedia performance at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis. Van Doren also read at the Princeton Poetry festival.

Awards

Van Doren was nominated for the 2019 Pushcart Prize for her poem, “Funk,” which appeared in Volume 29.2 of december magazine. Van Doren was awarded the 2007

from the Academy of American Poets for her first collection of poems, "Sex at Noon Taxes," which was published in the spring of 2008 by LSU Press. She was a semi-finalist in the 2006 "Discovery"/The Nation Poetry Contest. Van Doren received the Kenneth O. Hanson Award in 2013 from Hubbub magazine for her poem, “Color Theory.” She is the recipient of the Loy Ledbetter Award from the St. Louis Poetry Center. She also was a finalist in the Poets Out Loud Prize in 2012-2013.

Works

* * *
"Metronome", ''Verse Daily''
* *
"Color Theory"
''The Art Critic review.'' Happening in the Hills. December, 2017.
Visual Poetry at the Cornwall Library: Sally Van Doren's Polysemic Drawings"
''Lakeville Journal Review.'' November, 2017.
"Housewife as Poet"
''American Life in Poetry.'' November, 2018. Van Doren's poetry has also been published in several magazines and journals, including ''American Letters and Commentary,'' ''Cimarron Review,'' ''5AM,'' ''Hubbub,'' ''Lumina, Mudlark, The New Republic, The Normal School, poets.org, Rhino, South Carolina Review, Tinge, Valparaiso Poetry Review,'' and ''Western Humanities Review.''

Poetry books

* * *

References

External links

* "Preposition" animation, ''Poetry Everywhere'', PBS
Sallyvandoren.com

Poets.Org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Doren, Sally Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Phillips Academy alumni Princeton University alumni Writers from St. Louis Sally Van Doren University of Missouri–St. Louis alumni American women poets