Cole Swensen
Encyclopedia
Cole Swensen is an American poet, translator, editor, copywriter, and professor. Swensen was awarded a 2006 Guggenheim Fellowship
and is the author of more than ten poetry collections and as many translations of works from the French. She received her B.A. and M.A. from San Francisco State University
and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature
from the University of California, Santa Cruz
before going on to become the now-Previous Director of the Creative Writing Program at the University of Denver
. She now teaches at the Iowa Writers' Workshop
at the University of Iowa
.
Her work is considered Postmodern and post-Language school, though she maintains close ties with many of the original authors from that group (such as Lyn Hejinian
, Carla Harryman
, Barrett Watten
, Charles Bernstein
,) as well as poets from all over the US and Europe. In fact, her work is hybrid in nature, sometimes called lyric-Language poetry emerging from a strong background in the poetic and visual art traditions of both the USA and France and adding to them her own vision.
In the USA, Cole Swensen’s ninth collection of poetry, Goest (Alice James Books, 2004) was a finalist for the National Book Award
. Earlier works have been awarded a National Poetry Series
selection, Sun & Moon’s New American Writing Award, the Iowa Poetry Prize via University of Iowa Press
, the San Francisco State Poetry Center Book Award, and two Pushcart
Prizes.
Her translation of Jean Frémon’s The Island of the Dead won the 2004 PEN
USA Literary Award for Translation. She has also received grants from the Association Beaumarchais and the French Bureau du Livre.
’s Reed Hall, the maison des écrivains et de la littérature in Paris, Double Change and Ivy Writers Paris. Her life-long commitment to translation is a testament to her belief in the international exchange of words and language, and in the importance of radical and traditional poetries for contemporary society.
She is member of the Academy of American Poets
, and a contributing editor for the periodicals American Letters & Commentary and for Shiny, and for many years was the translation editor for the online contemporary poetry and poetics review How2.
She divides her time between Paris, Washington DC and Iowa, where she is on the permanent faculty at Iowa Writers' Workshop
. She is also the founder and editor of La Presse, a small press dedicated to the translation and publication in English of contemporary French poetry (such as by Claude Royet-Journoud
or Marie Borel).
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
and is the author of more than ten poetry collections and as many translations of works from the French. She received her B.A. and M.A. from San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature
Comparative literature
Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the literature of two or more different linguistic, cultural or national groups...
from the University of California, Santa Cruz
University of California, Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz, also known as UC Santa Cruz or UCSC, is a public, collegiate university; one of ten campuses in the University of California...
before going on to become the now-Previous Director of the Creative Writing Program at the University of Denver
University of Denver
The University of Denver is currently ranked 82nd among all public and private "National Universities" by U.S. News & World Report in the 2012 rankings....
. She now teaches at the Iowa Writers' Workshop
Iowa Writers' Workshop
The Program in Creative Writing, more commonly known as the Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, is a highly regarded graduate-level creative writing program in the United States...
at the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
.
Her work is considered Postmodern and post-Language school, though she maintains close ties with many of the original authors from that group (such as Lyn Hejinian
Lyn Hejinian
Lyn Hejinian is an American poet, essayist, translator and publisher. She is often associated with the Language poets and is well known for her landmark work My Life , as well as her book of essays, The Language of Inquiry .-Life:Hejinian was born in the San...
, Carla Harryman
Carla Harryman
Carla Harryman is an American poet, essayist, and playwright often associated with the Language poets. She teaches Creative Writing at Eastern Michigan University and serves on the MFA faculty of the Milton Avery School of the Arts at Bard College...
, Barrett Watten
Barrett Watten
Barrett Watten is an American poet, editor, and educator often associated with the Language poets.Since 1994, Watten has taught modernism and cultural studies at Wayne State University in Detroit...
, Charles Bernstein
Charles Bernstein
Charles Bernstein is an American poet, theorist, editor, and literary scholar. Bernstein holds the Donald T. Regan Chair in the Department of English at the University of Pennsylvania. He is one of the most prominent members of the Language poets . In 2006 he was elected a Fellow of the American...
,) as well as poets from all over the US and Europe. In fact, her work is hybrid in nature, sometimes called lyric-Language poetry emerging from a strong background in the poetic and visual art traditions of both the USA and France and adding to them her own vision.
In the USA, Cole Swensen’s ninth collection of poetry, Goest (Alice James Books, 2004) was a finalist for the National Book Award
National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
. Earlier works have been awarded a National Poetry Series
National Poetry Series
The National Poetry Series is an American literary awards program.Every year since 1979 it has sponsored the publication of five books of poetry...
selection, Sun & Moon’s New American Writing Award, the Iowa Poetry Prize via University of Iowa Press
University of Iowa Press
The University of Iowa Press is a university press that is part of the University of Iowa.Established in 1969, the University of Iowa Press publishes books that fill the needs of scholars and students throughout the world, poetry and short fiction, and works of creative nonfiction...
, the San Francisco State Poetry Center Book Award, and two Pushcart
Pushcart Prize
The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are invited to nominate up to 6 works they have featured....
Prizes.
Her translation of Jean Frémon’s The Island of the Dead won the 2004 PEN
International PEN
PEN International , the worldwide association of writers, was founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere....
USA Literary Award for Translation. She has also received grants from the Association Beaumarchais and the French Bureau du Livre.
Sidelights
In France, Swensen has participated in readings and collaborative translation projects with such organizations as the Royaumont Foundation at the beautiful L'abbaye de Royaumont, Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
’s Reed Hall, the maison des écrivains et de la littérature in Paris, Double Change and Ivy Writers Paris. Her life-long commitment to translation is a testament to her belief in the international exchange of words and language, and in the importance of radical and traditional poetries for contemporary society.
She is member of the Academy of American Poets
Academy of American Poets
The Academy of American Poets is a non-profit organization dedicated to the art of poetry. The Academy was incorporated as a "membership corporation" in New York State in 1934...
, and a contributing editor for the periodicals American Letters & Commentary and for Shiny, and for many years was the translation editor for the online contemporary poetry and poetics review How2.
She divides her time between Paris, Washington DC and Iowa, where she is on the permanent faculty at Iowa Writers' Workshop
Iowa Writers' Workshop
The Program in Creative Writing, more commonly known as the Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, is a highly regarded graduate-level creative writing program in the United States...
. She is also the founder and editor of La Presse, a small press dedicated to the translation and publication in English of contemporary French poetry (such as by Claude Royet-Journoud
Claude Royet-Journoud
Claude Royet-Journoud is a contemporary French poet and artist living in Paris .-Overview:Royet-Journoud's publications in French include his tetralogy, published between 1972 and 1997: Le Renversement, La Notion d'Obstacle, Les Objets contiennent l'infini, and Les Natures indivisibles...
or Marie Borel).
Books
- Ours: poems on the gardens of Andre Le Notre (University of California Press, 2008) --excerpt at POOL
- The Glass Age, (Alice James Books , 2007)
- The Book of a Hundred Hands (University of Iowa PressUniversity of Iowa PressThe University of Iowa Press is a university press that is part of the University of Iowa.Established in 1969, the University of Iowa Press publishes books that fill the needs of scholars and students throughout the world, poetry and short fiction, and works of creative nonfiction...
, Iowa City, 2005) - NEF, a translation by Rémi Bouthonnier of Noon (Les Petits Matins, Paris, 2005)
- Goest, (Alice James Books, 2004)--Finalist for the National Book AwardNational Book AwardThe National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
, 2004, and One of 12 books honored as the "Best Poetry of 2004" by Library Journal. - Such Rich Hour, (University of Iowa PressUniversity of Iowa PressThe University of Iowa Press is a university press that is part of the University of Iowa.Established in 1969, the University of Iowa Press publishes books that fill the needs of scholars and students throughout the world, poetry and short fiction, and works of creative nonfiction...
, Iowa City, 2001) - Oh, (Apogee Press, Berkeley, CA, 2000)--Finalist for the National Poetry SeriesNational Poetry SeriesThe National Poetry Series is an American literary awards program.Every year since 1979 it has sponsored the publication of five books of poetry...
, 1998. - And Hand chapbook (a+bend Press series, San Francisco, CA, 2000)
- Try, (University of Iowa PressUniversity of Iowa PressThe University of Iowa Press is a university press that is part of the University of Iowa.Established in 1969, the University of Iowa Press publishes books that fill the needs of scholars and students throughout the world, poetry and short fiction, and works of creative nonfiction...
, Iowa City, Iowa, 1999)--Winner of the Iowa Poetry Prize, 1998, and Winner of the San Francisco State Poetry Center Book Award, 2000. - Noon (Sun & Moon Press, Los Angeles, CA., 1997)--Winner of the New American Writing Award. Re-published with Green Integer
- Numen, (Burning Deck PressBurning Deck PressBurning Deck is a small press specializing in the publication of experimental poetry and prose. Burning Deck was founded by the writers Keith Waldrop and Rosmarie Waldrop in 1961.-Overview:...
, Providence, RI, 1995) -- Named an “International Book of the Year,” Times Literary Supplement, and Finalist for the PENInternational PENPEN International , the worldwide association of writers, was founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere....
West Award in Poetry, 1996. It also appeared in French translation as Numen, (Fondation Royaumont, 1994) - Parc, a translation by Pierre Alferi of Park (Format Américan France, 1995)
- Park (Floating Island Press, Inverness, CA. 1991)
- New Math (William Morrow & Co., New York, 1988)--Winner of the National Poetry SeriesNational Poetry SeriesThe National Poetry Series is an American literary awards program.Every year since 1979 it has sponsored the publication of five books of poetry...
, 1987 - It's Alive She Says, (Floating Island Press, CA, 1984)
Swensen's translations from the French
- Physis by Nicolas Pesquès (Parlor Press / Free Verse Editions, 2007)
- Futur, ancien, fugitif by Olivier Cadiot, as Future, Former, Fugitive(Roof Books, 2004)
- Kub or by Pierre Alferi , asOxo (Burning Deck, 2004)
- Ile des Morts by Jean Frémon, as: Island of the Dead (Green Integer, 2002)--awarded the 2004 PENInternational PENPEN International , the worldwide association of writers, was founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere....
USA Award for Literary Translation - Bayart by Pascalle Monnier (Black Square Editions, 2001)
- Natural Gaits by Pierre Alferi (Sun & Moon, 1995).
- Past Travels by Olivier Cadiot (1994)
- Interrmittances II by Jean Tortel(1994)
Other Publications
- Swensen has written critical articles on poets such as Susan HoweSusan HoweSusan Howe is a American poet, scholar, essayist and critic, who has been closely associated with the Language poets, among others poetry movements. Her work is often classified as Postmodern because it expands traditional notions of genre...
, Anne-Marie AlbiachAnne-Marie AlbiachAnne-Marie Albiach is a contemporary French poet and translator.-Overview:Anne-Marie Albiach's poetry is characterized by, among other things, an inventive use of spacing on the printed page...
or Claude Royet-JournoudClaude Royet-JournoudClaude Royet-Journoud is a contemporary French poet and artist living in Paris .-Overview:Royet-Journoud's publications in French include his tetralogy, published between 1972 and 1997: Le Renversement, La Notion d'Obstacle, Les Objets contiennent l'infini, and Les Natures indivisibles...
, as well as reviews of poetry for such periodicals and books as: - “The Boston Review”
- “The Bloomsbury Review”
- anthologies Moving Borders: Three Decades of Innovative Writing By Women edited by Mary Margaret Sloan, (Talisman Editions, New Jersey, 1998) and
- Civil Disobediences (Coffee House Press, 2004)
- American Hybrid: A Norton Anthology of Contemporary Poetry, (W.W. Norton & Company, 2008). Swensen co-edited (with David St. JohnDavid St. John-Biography:Born in Fresno, California, he was educated at California State University, Fresno, where he studied with poet Philip Levine, and at the University of Iowa, receiving an M.F.A. in 1974...
) this anthology that includes 70 poets seen as creating cross-genre works, mixing traditional or modernist poetry techniques with experimental and postmodern writings
Contributions to Periodicals
- Contributor to periodicals in English: including Chicago Review, American Poetry Review, Boston Book Review, Common Knowledge, ConjunctionsConjunctionsConjunctions, is a biannual American literary journal based at Bard College. It was founded in 1981 and is currently edited by Bradford Morrow....
, Upstairs at Duroc, Grand Street, New American WritingNew American WritingNew American Writing is a once-a-year American literary magazine emphasizing contemporary American poetry, including a range of innovative contemporary writing. The magazine is published in association with San Francisco State University. New American Writing is published by OINK! Press, a...
, and ZYZZYVA. She has also translated individual poems for print and online periodicals such as Verse, The Germ, 1913. Online at the extensive Chicago Modern Poetry website, one can discover other poets Swensen has translated including Caroline Dubois or Sabine Macher, and OulipoOulipoOulipo is a loose gathering of French-speaking writers and mathematicians which seeks to create works using constrained writing techniques. It was founded in 1960 by Raymond Queneau and François Le Lionnais...
poet Michel Gringaud at the drunkenboat publication website or at Free Verse. - Individual poems by Swensen have appeared in French translation: in the reviews “Action Poétique,” "Java," "Vacarme," "Nioque," "Action Poétique," and “Hors-Bords.”
External links
- Poet Profile: Academy of American Poets > Cole Swensen
- Interview: ChicagoPostmodernPoetry > Poetic Profile: Cole Swensen
- http://www.thecontinentalreview.com/Video Interview in The Continental Review by Jennifer K DickJennifer K DickJennifer K Dick, American poet, translator and educator/scholar born in Minnesota, raised in Iowa and currently living in Mulhouse, France. Jennifer K Dick has been classified as a post-L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E school poet with a strong background in lyric and narrative tradition.She has taught American...
] - Octopus Magazine > Review by Hadara Bar-Nadav of The Glass Age > by Cole Swensen