Olena Kalytiak Davis (born September 16, 1963) is a

Ukrainian-American Ukrainian Americans ( uk, Українські американці, Ukrayins'ki amerykantsi) are Americans who are of Ukrainian ancestry. According to U.S. census estimates, in 2021 there were 1,017,586 Americans of Ukrainian descent represen ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

. Davis is the author of five poetry collections, her most recent being ''Late Summer Ode''. Her collection ''The Poem She Didn't Write And Other Poems'' (2014,

Copper Canyon Press Copper Canyon Press is an independent, non-profit small press, founded in 1972 specializing exclusively in the publication of poetry. It is located in Port Townsend, Washington. Copper Canyon Press publishes new collections of poetry by both popu ...

) was a 2014 Lannan Literary Selection. Her first book, ''And Her Soul Out Of Nothing,'' won the Brittingham Prize (

University of Wisconsin Press The University of Wisconsin Press (sometimes abbreviated as UW Press) is a non-profit university press publishing peer-reviewed books and journals. It publishes work by scholars from the global academic community; works of fiction, memoir and po ...

). Her second book, the cult classic ''shattered sonnets love cards and other off and back handed importunities'' (2003,

Tin House ''Tin House'' is an American book publisher based in Portland, Oregon, and New York City. Portland publisher Win McCormack originally conceived the idea for a literary magazine called ''Tin House'' in the summer of 1998. He enlisted Holly MacArt ...

Books), was republished by

in 2014. Her honors include a 2004 Guggenheim Fellowship in poetry and a 1996

Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award The Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award was an award given annually to beginning women writers. Established in 1995 by American author Rona Jaffe, the Foundation offers grants to writers of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. The award wa ...

in poetry. Her poems have been published in literary journals and magazines including ''AGNI,'' ''A Small Number'', ''New England Review, Tin House, Poetry Northwest, Michigan Quarterly Review, Field, Indiana Review, Post Road Magazine'' and in anthologies including ''Best American Poetry 1995'' and ''Legitimate Dangers: American Poets of the New Century'' (

Sarabande Books Sarabande Books is an American not-for-profit literary press founded in 1994. It is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, with an office in New York City. Sarabande publishes contemporary poetry and nonfiction. Sarabande is a literary press whos ...

). Davis is a first-generation

, and she grew up in Detroit. She was educated at

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a Public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of C ...

, and

Vermont College of Fine Arts Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) is a private graduate-level art school in Montpelier, Vermont. It offers Master's degrees in low-residency and residential programs. Its faculty includes Pulitzer Prize finalists, National Book Award winners, ...

. She is also a contributing editor at

The Alaska Quarterly Review ''The Alaska Quarterly Review'' is a biannual literary journal founded in 1980 by Ronald Spatz and James Liszka at the University of Alaska Anchorage and continued unaffiliated in 2020.July 1, 2020 University of Alaska Anchorage ended its financi ...

. She has lived in San Francisco, Prague, Lviv, Paris, Chicago, and the Yup'ik community of Bethel, Alaska, and currently lives in Anchorage, Alaska, where she works as a lawyer.

Published works

*1997 ''And Her Soul Out of Nothing'' (winner of the

Brittingham Prize in Poetry The Brittingham Prize in Poetry is a major United States literary award for a book of poetry chosen from an open competition. The prize, established in 1985, is sponsored by the English Department at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and is ...

, published by the

) *2003 ''Shattered Sonnets, Love Cards, and Other Off-And-Back Handed Importunities'' (poetry)

Portland, OR Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous cou ...

Tin House Books ''Tin House'' is an American book publisher based in Portland, Oregon, and New York City. Portland publisher Win McCormack originally conceived the idea for a literary magazine called ''Tin House'' in the summer of 1998. He enlisted Holly MacArt ...

. *2009 ''On the Kitchen Table from Which Everything Has Been Hastily Removed''. Published by Hollyridge Press. *2014 ''The Poem She Didn't Write And Other Poems'', Published by Copper Canyon Press. *2014 ''shattered sonnets love cards and other back handed importunities'', Republished by

. *2022 ''Late Summer Ode'', Published by Copper Canyon Press.

References

External links

''rhubarb is susan'' > A Review of Davis' work

at

American Booksellers Association > Bookselling This Week: Features: ''Poet Olena Kalytiak Davis Talks About Spring, T.S. Eliot, and Wonderoos''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Olena Kalytiak Living people Wayne State University alumni University of Michigan Law School alumni Poets from Michigan Poets from Alaska Vermont College of Fine Arts alumni 1963 births American women poets Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award winners 21st-century American poets American people of Ukrainian descent 21st-century American women writers