Sarah Rose Nordgren is an American poet. She is the author of ''Darwin’s Mother'', and ''Best Bones'', winner of the 2013 Agnes Lynch Starrett Prize.

Early life and education

Sarah Rose Nordgren was raised in

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

. She has a BA in Liberal Arts from

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York. The college models its approach to education after the Supervision system, Oxford/Cambridge system of one-on-one student-faculty tutorials. Sara ...

, an MFA in Poetry from The

University of North Carolina at Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. UNCG, like all members of the UNC system, is a stand-al ...

where she held the

Fred Chappell Fred Davis Chappell (born May 28, 1936 in Canton, North Carolina) is an author and poet. He was an English professor for 40 years (1964–2004) at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He was the Poet Laureate of North Carolina from 1 ...

Fellowship, and a PhD in English and Creative Writing from the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

, with a Graduate Certificate in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, where she was also a Taft Summer Research Fellow and a Ricking Dissertation Fellow.

Career

Nordgren’s first poetry collection, ''Best Bones'', was published in 2014 by

University of Pittsburgh Press The University of Pittsburgh Press is a scholarly publishing house and a major American university press, part of the University of Pittsburgh. The university and the press are located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The press ...

. The collection, with themes of myth, identity, domestic life, and loss, won the 2013 Agnes Lynch Starrett Prize for a first book. Her second collection, ''Darwin’s Mother'', published in 2017 also by

, is an exploration of evolution, natural science, and humanity’s place in the world, and was a finalist for the 2018 Ohioana Library Association Book Award for Poetry. Nordgren is the recipient of two fellowships from the

Fine Arts Work Center The Fine Arts Work Center is a non-profit enterprise devoted to encouraging the growth and development of emerging visual artists and writers through residency programs, to the propagation of aesthetic values and experience, and to the restoratio ...

in Provincetown, MA, as well as an Individual Excellence Award from the

Ohio Arts Council The Ohio Arts Council (OAC) is an agency serving the U.S. state of Ohio. History Established in 1965, its mission is to "foster and encourage the development of the arts and assist the preservation of Ohio's cultural heritage." Each year it award ...

. She has also received scholarships from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, a fellowship from 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 S ...

, and residencies at the

Vermont Studio Center The Vermont Studio Center (VSC) is a non-profit arts organization located in the town of Johnson, Vermont. It conducts the largest fine arts and writing residency program in the United States, with a significant population of international artis ...

and

Virginia Center for the Creative Arts The Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA) is a residential artist community in Amherst, Virginia, USA. Since 1971, VCCA has offered residencies of varying lengths with flexible scheduling for international artists, writers, and composers at ...

. She won the 2012 James Wright Poetry Award from

Mid-American Review ''Mid-American Review'' (''MAR'') is an international literary journal dedicated to publishing contemporary fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and translations. Founded in 1981, ''MAR'' is a publication of the Department of English and the College of Ar ...

. Nordgren also creates video and performance art with dance and video maker Kathleen Kelley under the name Smart Snow. Their performance installation, Digitized Figures, was produced at the Gowanus Lofts in Brooklyn, NY in 2016. “Territory,” a poetry and dance video, was published by TriQuarterly Magazine in 2018. Nordgren is an Associate Editor for the journal

32 Poems ''32 Poems Magazine'' (''32 Poems'') is a literary magazine, founded in the American states of Maryland and Texas in 2003, that has published poems from writers around the world. About This independent magazine, founded by Deborah Ager and John Po ...

. She lives in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

Selected publications

*''Best Bones'', (

, 2014) *''Darwin’s Mother'', (

, 2017)

Awards

Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize The Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize is a major American literary award for a first full-length book of poetry in the English language. This prize of the University of Pittsburgh Press in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States was initiated by ...

, ''Best Bones'', 2013 *James Wright Poetry Prize from

, 2012

References

External links

Official Site

University of Pittsburgh Press - Author Page

Interview: Yale Radio WYBC

Interview: WVXU Cincinnati

Interview: Memorious Magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nordgren, Sarah Rose Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American women poets 21st-century American poets 21st-century American women writers Sarah Lawrence College alumni University of North Carolina at Greensboro alumni University of Cincinnati alumni Writers from Durham, North Carolina Poets from North Carolina