Sandra Beasley (born May 5, 1980, in

Vienna, Virginia Vienna () is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, Vienna has a population of 16,473. Significantly more people live in ZIP codes with the Vienna postal addresses (22180, 22181, and 22182), bordered approx ...

) is an American poet and non-fiction writer.

Background

Beasley graduated from

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (also known as TJHSST, TJ, or Jefferson) is a Virginia state-chartered magnet high school in Fairfax County, Virginia operated by Fairfax County Public Schools. The school occupies the buil ...

, earned a B.A. in English ''magna cum laude'' from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

, and later received an MFA degree from American University. For several years she worked as an editor at ''

The American Scholar "The American Scholar" was a speech given by Ralph Waldo Emerson on August 31, 1837, to the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Harvard College at the First Parish in Cambridge in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was invited to speak in recognition of his gro ...

'' before leaving the position to write full-time. Beasley is the author of the poetry collections ''Theories of Falling'' (New Issues, 2008) and ''I Was the Jukebox,'' (

W.W. Norton W. W. Norton & Company is an American publishing company based in New York City. Established in 1923, it has been owned wholly by its employees since the early 1960s. The company is known for its Norton Anthologies (particularly ''The Norton An ...

, 2010), as well as the memoir ''Don't Kill the Birthday Girl: Tales from an Allergic Life'' (

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

, 2011), which is also a cultural history of food allergies. Her poetry has been anthologized in ''The Best American Poetry 2010'', ''Poetry Daily'', ''Verse Daily'', and ''Best New Poets 2005'', as well as such journals as ''

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 ...

'', ''The Believer'', ''AGNI'' online, ''Blackbird'', ''Barrelhouse'', ''Copper Nickel'', ''Gulf Coast'', and ''Black Warrior Review''. She was a regular contributor to the "XX Files" column for the ''Washington Post Magazine'' and more recently her prose has appeared in the ''Wall Street Journal'' and ''Psychology Today.'' She has received fellowships to the University of Mississippi (as the Summer Poet in Residence), the

Sewanee Writers' Conference The Sewanee Writers' Conference is a writers' conference held every summer on the campus of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. The conference was started in 1989 by founding director Wyatt Prunty and the current director is Leah ...

(Walter E. Dakin Fellowship), and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (two Cafritz Fellowships), among others honors. She serves on the Board for th
Writer's Center
and is also a member of th
Arts Club of Washington

Honors and awards

* 2015 Cavafy Prize from '' Poetry International'' * 2010 Summer Poet in Residence fellowship at the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi ( byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment ...

* 2010 LegalArt Residence * 2010 Artist Fellowship from the

DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities The D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities (CAH) is an agency of the District of Columbia government. As of October 2022, the Interim Executive Director is David Markey. CAH was created as an outgrowth of the U.S. Congress Act that established ...

* 2009 Friends of Poetry Prize from the

Poetry Foundation The Poetry Foundation is an American literary society that seeks to promote poetry and lyricism in the wider culture. It was formed from ''Poetry'' magazine, which it continues to publish, with a 2003 gift of $200 million from philanthropist Ru ...

* 2009 Cafritz Fellowship to Virginia Center for Creative Arts * 2009

Barnard Women Poets Prize The Barnard Women Poets Prize is a literary award in the United States for an English language book of poetry. From 1986 to 2001, the prize was a first-book award called the Barnard New Women Poets Prize. Winners had their poetry book published und ...

, selected by

Joy Harjo Joy Harjo ( ; born May 9, 1951) is an American poet, musician, playwright, and author. She served as the 23rd United States Poet Laureate, the first Native American to hold that honor. She was also only the second Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetr ...

* 2008 Walter E. Dakin Fellowship to the Sewanee Writers' Conference * 2008 Maureen Egen Exchange Award from

Poets & Writers Poets & Writers, Inc. is one of the largest nonprofit literary organizations in the United States serving poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers. The organization publishes a bi-monthly magazine called ''Poets & Writers Magazine'', ...

* 2007 New Issues Poetry Prize, selected by Marie Howe * 2006 Elinor Benedict Poetry Prize from ''Passages North'' at Northern Michigan University * 2005 Cafritz Fellowship to Virginia Center for Creative Arts

Published works

* * * * *

Translated works

* ''Die Abtastnadel in der Rille eines traurigen Lieds''. Selected poems. Bilingual edition (German, English). Berlin: Hochroth Press, 2011. pp. 28.

References

External links

Author's website

Author's "Chicks Dig Poetry" blog
* Interview
"Q&A: Sandra Beasley says allergies can bring out insensitivity in others"
''The Globe & Mail'' July 19, 2011 * Interview
"Sandra Beasley: On Food Allergies, Rituals, and Inclusion"
''Her Circle'' > Shana Thornton, July 12, 2011 * Interview
"Jake Adam York Interviews Sandra Beasley"
''Southern Spaces'' September 22, 2011. * Poems

''Delaware Poetry Review'' * Poems

''Coconut 8'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Beasley, Sandra Poets from Virginia People from Vienna, Virginia University of Virginia alumni American University alumni Living people Poets from Washington, D.C. 1980 births American women poets Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology alumni 21st-century American poets 21st-century American women writers American women non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers