Shara Lessley

Shara Lessley is an American poet and essayist.

Early life

Lessley grew up in Tulare, California, before attending the University of California, Irvine. An ArtsBridge Scholar, she earned undergraduate degrees in English and Dance. Shara received an M.F.A. in Poetry from the University of Maryland's creative writing program.

Career

Lessley is the author of two full-length collections of poetry, The Explosive Expert's Wife (University of Wisconsin Press), a Rumpus Poetry Book selection, and Two-Headed Nightingale (New Issues Poetry & Prose). With the poet Bruce Snider, Lessley co-edited The Poem's Country: Place & Poetic Practice (Pleiades Press), an anthology of essays.

Lessley's writing has been published widely, appearing in newspapers and magazines such as The San Francisco Chronicle,[1] Poetry Daily[2], The Kenyon Review,[3] Missouri Review,[4] and 32 Poems,[5] as well as in numerous anthologies. Her poems have earned awards including Southern Indiana Review's Patricia Aakhus Award for the best work across all genres in a given year, the Collins Prize from Birmingham Poetry Review, New England Poetry Club's 2015 Erika Mumford Prize, and a Discovery / The Nation Prize[6] from The Nation, among others. The editors of Best American Essays 2016 listed Lessley's "Point Blank" as a "Notable Essay."

Lessley is a contributing editor for West Branch and her annual column on contemporary poetry appears annually in the magazine. Lessley is also the assistant poetry editor[7] for Acre Books. She has taught literature and writing both in the United States and abroad at universities and schools including University of Wisconsin–Madison, Colgate University, Washington College, and The Gilman School, as well as for Stanford University's Online Continuing Studies Program for creative writing. She was the inaugural Anne-Spencer-Poet-in-Residence[8] at Randolph College.

Select awards and fellowships

Books

References
  1. "State Lines: Shara Lessley's 'Lines Following a Husband's Departure'". San Francisco Chronicle. March 12, 2018. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  2. "Poetry Daily: The Accused Terrorist's Wife, by Shara Lessley". poems.com. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  3. "Letter to Bruce in Paradise, Indiana | Journal". The Kenyon Review. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  4. "The Missouri Review " Poetry Feature: Shara Lessley". missourireview.com. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  5. "Shara Lessley | 32 Poems Magazine". 32poems.com. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  6. Schulman, Grace. "Discovery/The Nation '06 Prizewinners | The Nation". ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  7. "Staff". Acre Books. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  8. "Visiting writer positions named for Pearl S. Buck and Anne Spencer". Visiting writer positions named for Pearl S. Buck and Anne Spencer | Randolph College. November 13, 2013. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  9. "Former Stegner Fellows | Creative Writing Program". creativewriting.stanford.edu. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  10. "Olive B O'Connor Fellowship – Department of English". colgate.edu. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  11. "Gilman School – Tickner Writing Fellow". gilman.edu. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  12. "WI Institute for Creative Writing Fellows". WI Institute for Creative Writing. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  13. "North Carolina Arts Council Fellowship Recipients" (PDF). North Carolina Arts Council. Alt URL
  14. "Lit House Announces 2014 Mary Wood Fellow". washcoll.edu. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  15. "Shara Lessley". NEA. May 30, 2018. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
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