Wayne Joshua Miller (born January 10, 1976) is an American poet, editor, translator, and professor.

Life and career

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Miller earned a BA from

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

and an MFA from the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

. For twelve years he taught at the

University of Central Missouri The University of Central Missouri (UCM) is a public university in Warrensburg, Missouri. In 2019, enrollment was 11,229 students from 49 states and 59 countries on its 1,561-acre campus. UCM offers 150 programs of study, including 10 pre-profes ...

, where he was an editor of the literary journal ''

Pleiades The Pleiades (), also known as The Seven Sisters, Messier 45 and other names by different cultures, is an asterism and an open star cluster containing middle-aged, hot B-type stars in the north-west of the constellation Taurus. At a distance of ...

''. Since 2014 he has taught at the

University of Colorado Denver The University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) is a Public university, public research university in Denver, Colorado. It is part of the University of Colorado system. History University of Colorado System Anschutz Medical Campus The University ...

, where he serves as editor/managing editor of ''Copper Nickel''. With

Kevin Prufer Kevin D. Prufer (born 1969 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American poet, academic, editor, and essayist. His most recent books are ''How He Loved Them'' ( Four Way Books, 2018),''Churches'' ( Four Way Books, 2014), ''In A Beautiful Country'' ( Four ...

, he also co-curates the Unsung Masters Series.

Publications and critical reception

Miller's poems have appeared in numerous periodicals—including ''

Boulevard A boulevard is a type of broad avenue planted with rows of trees, or in parts of North America, any urban highway. Boulevards were originally circumferential roads following the line of former city walls. In American usage, boulevards may ...

'', '' Crazyhorse'', ''

Field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

'', ''

The Paris Review ''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published works by Jack Kerouac, Philip ...

'',

Ploughshares ''Ploughshares'' is an American literary journal established in 1971 by DeWitt Henry and Peter O'Malley in The Plough and Stars, an Irish pub in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since 1989, ''Ploughshares'' has been based at Emerson College in Boston. ...

, ''

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 Southern Review ''The Southern Review'' is a quarterly literary magazine that was established by Robert Penn Warren in 1935 at the behest of Charles W. Pipkin and funded by Huey Long as a part of his investment in Louisiana State University. It publishes fiction ...

'', and ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

''—and he has published four full-length poetry collections. His first collection, ''Only the Senses Sleep'', published by

New Issues Poetry & Prose New Issues Poetry & Prose is a literary press associated with Western Michigan University. It was founded by poet and Western Michigan University professor Herbert S. Scott. Editors have included poets William Olsen and Nancy Eimers. The Huffin ...

in 2006, won the 2007 William Rockhill Nelson Award in Poetry and was named a ''Kansas City Star'' "noteworthy" book of 2006.

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

called the book a "mature debut." Miller's next three collections were published by

Milkweed Editions Milkweed Editions is an independent nonprofit literary publisher that originated from the ''Milkweed Chronicle'' literary and arts journal established in Minneapolis in 1979. The journal ceased and the business transitioned to publishing. It relea ...

. ''The Book of Props'', published in 2009, was described by

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

as "mak nga vast impact using the smallest stroke" and was named a best poetry book of the year by ''Coldfront Magazine'' and the ''Kansas City Star''. ''The City, Our City'', published in 2011, was a finalist for the 2012

William Carlos Williams Award The William Carlos Williams Award is given out by the Poetry Society of America for a poetry book published by a small press, non-profit, or university press. The award is endowed by the family and friends of Geraldine Clinton Little, a poet and ...

from the

Poetry Society of America The Poetry Society of America is a literary organization founded in 1910 by poets, editors, and artists. It is the oldest poetry organization in the United States. Past members of the society have included such renowned poets as Witter Bynner, Ro ...

. In a review of ''The City, Our City'', Notre Dame Review called Miller "among the best poets in the USA"; Micah Bateman in

The Kenyon Review ''The Kenyon Review'' is a literary magazine based in Gambier, Ohio, US, home of Kenyon College. ''The Review'' was founded in 1939 by John Crowe Ransom, critic and professor of English at Kenyon College, who served as its editor until 1959. ' ...

, described the poems as "fierce lyrical investigations." ''Post-'', published in 2016, won the 2017

Colorado Book Award The Colorado Book Awards are awards presented annually to Colorado authors, editors, illustrators, and photographers who exemplify the best in their category in the state during a given year. Awards have been presented since 1991. The awards are ...

and the 2017 Rilke Prize given to the best U.S. book of the year by a "mid-career poet." Phillip Garland, writing in

Colorado Review The ''Colorado Review'' is a quarterly literary magazine published by the Center for Literary Publishing at Colorado State University. History and profile The magazine was established in 1956. It presents the annual Nelligan Prize for Short Fict ...

, called Miller a "singular figure in American poetry," and Donna Seaman, writing in

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

, described ''Post-'' as "witty and solemn, stoic and nimble." In ''Tupelo Quarterly'',

Sean Singer Sean Singer (born 1974 in Guadalajara, Mexico) is an American poet. His book ''Discography'' won the Yale Series of Younger Poets Competition and the Norma Farber First Book Award in 2001. His second book ''Honey & Smoke'' was published by Eyewea ...

called ''Post-'' "a fascinating and wonderful book" and "a work of serious craft." Miller has co-translated two books by the Albanian poet Moikom Zeqo, whom Miller met when he was a junior in college. ''I Don't Believe in Ghosts'' was published in 2007 by BOA Editions. In 2015, Zephyr Press published ''Zodiac'', which was a finalist for the

PEN Center USA PEN Center USA was a branch of PEN, an international literary and human rights organization. It was one of two PEN International Centers in the United States, the other being the PEN America in New York City. On March 1, 2018, PEN Center USA unifi ...

Award in Translation. Miller has co-edited three books: ''New European Poets'' (with Kevin Prufer), published by

Graywolf Press Graywolf Press is an Independent publisher, independent, non-profit publishing, publisher located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Graywolf Press publishes fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. Graywolf Press collaborates with organizations such as the Co ...

; ''Tamura Ryuichi: On the Life & Work of a 20th Century Master'' (with Takako Lento), published through the Unsung Masters Series; and ''Literary Publishing in the Twenty-First Century'' (with Travis Kurowski and Kevin Prufer), published by

Honors and awards

Miller received a 2000 Ruth Lilly Fellowship 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 Rut ...

and, in 2001, the Bess Hokin Prize from Poetry Magazine. He has won the

George Bogin Memorial Award The Poetry Society of America's George Bogin Memorial Award is given "by the family and friends of George Bogin for a selection of four or five poems that use language in an original way to reflect the encounter of the ordinary and the extraordinar ...

, the

Lyric Poetry Award The Lyric Poetry Award is given once a year to a member of the Poetry Society of America and was "established under the will of PSA member Mrs. Consuelo Ford (Althea Urn), and also in memory of Mary Carolyn Davies, for a lyric poem on any subject. ...

, and, four times, the

Lucille Medwick Memorial Award The Lucille Medwick Memorial Award is given once a year to a member of the Poetry Society of America. It was "established by Maury Medwick in memory of his wife, the poet and editor, for an original poem in any form on a humanitarian theme."{{cite ...

from the

. In 2013, he received a

Fulbright The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

.Fulbright Scholar Program. http://www.cies.org/grantee/wayne-miller (Retrieved 26 Aug 2017)

Published works

Poetry collections

''Post-''.

, 2016. ''The City, Our City''.

, 2011. ''The Book of Props''.

, 2009. ''Only the Senses Sleep''. New Issues, 2006.

Co-translated poetry collections

''Zodiac''. By Moikom Zeqo, trans. Anastas Kapurani and Wayne Miller. Zephyr Press, 2015. ''I Don't Believe in Ghosts''. By Moikom Zeqo, trans. Wayne Miller et al. BOA Editions, 2007.

Co-edited books

''Literary Publishing in the Twenty-First Century''. With Travis Kurowski & Kevin Prufer. Milkweed Editions, 2016. ''Tamura Ryuichi: On the Life & Work of a 20th Century Master''. With Takako Lento. Pleiades Press, 2011. ''New European Poets''. With Kevin Prufer. Graywolf Press, 2008.

References

External links

Wayne Miller's Personal WebsiteWayne Miller's Faculty Page at the University of Colorado DenverCopper Nickel WebsiteWayne Miller at the Academy of American PoetsWayne Miller at the Poetry Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Wayne 1976 births Living people University of Central Missouri faculty Oberlin College alumni University of Houston alumni University of Colorado Denver faculty American male poets Writers from Cincinnati 21st-century American poets Poets from Ohio 21st-century American male writers Fulbright alumni