Cyrus Cassells
Encyclopedia
Life and work
Cassells was born in Dover, DelawareDover, Delaware
The city of Dover is the capital and second largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County, and the principal city of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County. It is located on the St. Jones River in the Delaware...
, grew up in the Mojave Desert north of Los Angeles, and began writing poetry in high school. He graduated in 1979 from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
with a degree in film and broadcasting, and landed a job creating poetry filmstrips in the film division of a publishing house, where he worked when Al Young called to tell him his manuscript had been selected for publication from the 1981 National Poetry Series competition. He has worked as a translator, film critic, actor, and teacher. Since 1998, he has taught poetry at Texas State University–San Marcos
Texas State University–San Marcos
Texas State University–San Marcos is a doctoral-granting university located in San Marcos, Texas...
for the MFA in writing program, and lives in Austin.
Cassells' collection More Than Peace and Cypresses (Copper Canyon Press
Copper Canyon Press
Copper Canyon Press is an independent, non-profit small press, specializing in the publication of poetry and located in the picturesque town of Port Townsend, Washington. Since 1972, the Press has published poetry exclusively and has established an international reputation for its commitment to...
), and his fifth book, The Crossed-Out Swastika, (2010) were published by Copper Canyon Press. He has won many awards including a 1995 Pushcart Prize, the Lambda Literary Award
Lambda Literary Award
Lambda Literary Awards are awarded yearly by the US-based Lambda Literary Foundation to published works which celebrate or explore LGBT themes. Categories include Humor, Romance and Biography. To qualify, a book must have been published in the United States in the year current to the award...
, and the William Carlos Williams Award
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....
. He was nominated for the 1994 Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
in Poetry for Soul Make A Path Through Shouting. He has had poems published in literary journals and magazines including Ploughshares Indiana Review, AGNI, Boston Review and Callaloo.
Poetry Collections
- More Than Peace and Cypresses (Copper Canyon PressCopper Canyon PressCopper Canyon Press is an independent, non-profit small press, specializing in the publication of poetry and located in the picturesque town of Port Townsend, Washington. Since 1972, the Press has published poetry exclusively and has established an international reputation for its commitment to...
, 2004) - Beautiful Signor (Copper Canyon Press, 1997)
- Soul Make a Path Through Shouting (Copper Canyon Press, 1994)
- The Mud Actor (Holt, Rhinehart and Winston, 1982)
- The Crossed-Out Swastika, (2010) Copper Canyon Press
Honors and awards
- 2005 NEA Literature Fellowship in Poetry
- 1997 Lambda Literary AwardLambda Literary AwardLambda Literary Awards are awarded yearly by the US-based Lambda Literary Foundation to published works which celebrate or explore LGBT themes. Categories include Humor, Romance and Biography. To qualify, a book must have been published in the United States in the year current to the award...
for Beautiful Signor - 1997 National Poetry Series Prize for The Mud Actor
- 1993 Lannan Literary Award - Poetry
- 1994 William Carlos Williams AwardWilliam Carlos Williams AwardThe 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....
for Soul Make a Path Through Shouting - 1992 Peter I.B. Lavan Younger Poet Award
- 1986 NEA Literature Fellowship in Poetry
- Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship
External links
- Texas State University > MFA Faculty
- Academy of American Poets > Poet: Cyrus Cassells Bio
- Texas State University > Rising Star: Cyrus Cassells Continues to Form Cultural Legacy as “A Poet of Witness By Amy Francisco
- Cassells discussing and reading his translations of Catalan poet Francesc Parcerisas, Center for the Art of Translation