Tess Gallagher
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Tess Gallagher (born 1943) is an American poet, essayist, and short story writer. Among her many honors were a fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation,
National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...
award, Maxine Cushing Gray Foundation Award.


Biography

Gallagher was born in
Port Angeles Port Angeles ( ) is a city and county seat of Clallam County, Washington, United States. With a population of 19,960 as of the 2020 census, it is the largest city in the county. The population was estimated at 20,134 in 2021. The city's har ...
,
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to logger and longshoreman Leslie Bond and gardener mother Georgia Bond. She studied with poet-intellectual
Theodore Roethke Theodore Huebner Roethke ( ; May 25, 1908 – August 1, 1963) was an American poet. He is regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential poets of his generation, having won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1954 for his book ''The Wa ...
in the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
, earning both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in English. She also attended the
Iowa Writers' Workshop The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a celebrated graduate-level creative writing program in the United States. The writer Lan Samantha Chang is its director. Graduates earn a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Creative Wri ...
, where she made films. In November 1977 Gallagher met
Raymond Carver Raymond Clevie Carver Jr. (May 25, 1938 – August 2, 1988) was an American short story writer and poet. He contributed to the revitalization of the American short story during the 1980s. Early life Carver was born in Clatskanie, Oregon, a mi ...
, a short story writer and poet, at a writers' conference in
Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...
and their relationship very much influenced her literary work, which included helping to edit and publish his writing. Beginning in January 1979, Carver and Gallagher lived together in
El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...
, in a borrowed cabin near
Port Angeles, Washington Port Angeles ( ) is a city and county seat of Clallam County, Washington, United States. With a population of 19,960 as of the 2020 census, it is the largest city in the county. The population was estimated at 20,134 in 2021. The city's har ...
, and in
Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...
. In 1980, the two moved to
Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...
, where Gallagher had been appointed the coordinator of the creative writing program at
Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
; Carver taught as a professor in the English department. They jointly purchased a house in Syracuse, at 832 Maryland Avenue. In ensuing years, the house became so popular that the couple had to hang a sign outside that read "Writers At Work" in order to be left alone. In 1988, six weeks prior to his death, Carver and Gallagher married in
Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...
. Tess Gallagher has a cottage in
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, where she now lives and works.


Raymond Carver and poetry

Raymond Carver Raymond Clevie Carver Jr. (May 25, 1938 – August 2, 1988) was an American short story writer and poet. He contributed to the revitalization of the American short story during the 1980s. Early life Carver was born in Clatskanie, Oregon, a mi ...
influenced her to write the short stories that were collected in ''The Lover of Horses'' (1986). She wrote ''Moon Crossing Bridge'', a collection of love poems dedicated to Raymond Carver, who died in 1988. She published the essay "Instead of Dying" in ''The Sun Magazine'' about Raymond Carver's life.


Distant Rain: A Conversation Between Jakucho Setouchi and Tess Gallagher

''Distant Rain'', published in 2006, is a conversation between Tess and
Jakucho Setouchi (15 May 1922 – 9 November 2021; born formerly known as was a Japanese Buddhist nun, writer, and activist. Setouchi wrote a best-selling translation of '' The Tale of Genji'' and over 400 fictional biographical and historical novels. In 1997 ...
, a Buddhist nun from
Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...
, that happened in Japan in 1990. They spoke about poetry, Tess Gallagher's grief about Raymond Carver, and differences between cultures.


Boogie-Woogie Crisscross

Tess Gallagher wrote the book of poetry ''Boogie-Woogie Crisscross'' in collaboration with Lawrence Matsuda. They sent each other emails with new poetry and ideas, then from these correspondences was gathered the book. The collaboration started when Alfredo Arreguin, Tess Gallagher's friend, gave her poetry by Lawrence Matsuda's about
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and Japanese who were imprisoned in camp Minidoka located in the western United States. Tess Gallagher helped Lawrence Matsuda to find a publisher for the poetry about Minidoka and this was how their literary friendship began.


Teaching career

Gallagher has taught at various institutions including St. Lawrence University,
University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fal ...
,
University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...
,
Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
,
Bucknell University Bucknell University is a private liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, Freeman College of Management, and the College of Engineering. ...
, and
Whitman College Whitman College is a private liberal arts college in Walla Walla, Washington. The school offers 53 majors and 33 minors in the liberal arts and sciences, and it has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9:1. Whitman was the first college in the Pacifi ...
.


Selected works


Poetry

;Collections * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Short fiction

;Collections * * * ;StoriesShort stories unless otherwise noted.


Essay collections

* *


Other works

* * ''Words Like Distant Rain'' (2006) *


Anthologies

*


References


External links


The Tess Gallagher Literary Archive
at The Ohio State University Libraries Rare Books and Manuscripts Collection {{DEFAULTSORT:Gallagher, Tess 1943 births Living people American essayists American short story writers American women essayists American women poets American women short story writers The Atlantic (magazine) people University of Washington alumni University of Arizona faculty St. Lawrence University faculty University of Montana faculty Bucknell University faculty Syracuse University faculty Whitman College faculty Writers from Port Angeles, Washington American women academics 21st-century American women