Samuel ("Sam") Green (born 1948) is an American poet and bookbinder. He was appointed the first
Poet Laureate of Washington
The Poet Laureate of Washington is a poet designated by the government of the US state of Washington to promote poetry generally, and Washington poetry specifically, within the state. The office of Poet Laureate of Washington was established by an ...
in 2007. Green is the author of twelve
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 ...
collections, including ''The Grace of Necessity'', which won the 2008
Washington State Book Award
The Washington State Book Awards is a literary awards program presented annually in recognition of notable books written by Washington authors in the previous year. The program was established in 1967 as the Governor's Writers Awards. Each year, u ...
for Poetry. In 2009, he was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Poetry, and sat on the NEA panel for the 2011 fellowships. His work has appeared in hundreds of publications including ''Poetry'', ''Poetry Northwest'', ''Southern Poetry Review'', and ''Prairie Schooner''.
Green was born in Sedro-Woolley, Washington and raised in
Anacortes, Washington
Anacortes ( ) is a city in Skagit County, Washington, United States. The name "Anacortes" is an adaptation of the name of Anne Curtis Bowman, who was the wife of early Fidalgo Island settler Amos Bowman.[Waldron Island
Waldron, also known as Waldron Island, is an unincorporated community in San Juan County, Washington, United States. Its population was 104 at the 2000 census.
Waldron is in the San Juan Islands. It is designated as a Limited Development District ...]
in a log house he built himself, running Brooding Heron Press with his wife Sally. They produce finely printed and bound volumes of verse by poets such as Denise Levertov, Ted Kooser, John Haines, Donald Hall, James Laughlin, Jane Hirshfield, and Hayden Carruth, among many others.
Publications
''Gillnets'' (Cold Mountain Press, 1978).
''Wind: Four Letters to Melinda Mueller'' (Breakwater Press, 1980).
''Hands Learning to Work'' (Brooding Heron Press, 1984).
''Vertebrae'' (Grey Spider Press, 1989).
''Keeping Faith'' (Grey Spider Press, 1990).
''Communion: Poems'' (Grey Spider Press, 1992).
''Vertebrae: Poems 1972-1994'' (Eastern Washington University Press, 1994).
''Working in the Dark'' (Grey Spider Press, 1998).
''The Only Time We Have: New Poems'' (Grey Spider Press, 2002).
''The Grace of Necessity'' (Carnegie-Mellon University Press, 2008).
''First Up: Barnstorming for Poetry'' (Chuckanut Editions, 2012).
''All That Might Be Done'' (Carnegie-Mellon University Press, 2014)
''Disturbing the Light'' (Carnegie-Mellon University Press, 2020)
Awards and honors
Washington State Poet Laureate 2007- 2009.
Stanley W. Lindberg Editor's Award, Pacific Lutheran University, 2008
Distinguished Alumnus of the Year Award, Highline Community College, 2008.
2008 Washington State Book Award for Poetry (for ''The Grace of Necessity'').
National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship for Poetry, 2009.
Artist Trust Fellowship in Literature (2011)
Doctor of Humane Letters (Honorary) from Seattle University, 2018
References
External links
Washington State Arts Commission -- Green Appointed Poet Laureate* http://www.nea.gov/features/writers/writersCMS/writer.php?id=09_33 Profile Page from the Nation Endowment for the Arts
*http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/A-life-dedicated-to-the-art-of-poetry-1278592.php Profile in the ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Samuel
Living people
American male poets
Poets from Washington (state)
Seattle University faculty
Poets Laureate of Washington (state)
1948 births
People from Anacortes, Washington
People from San Juan County, Washington