James Thomas Stevens
Encyclopedia
James Thomas Stevens is an American
poet and academic. He is a member of the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation
and currently teaches at the College of Contemporary Native Arts
in Santa Fe, New Mexico
.
, New York
, and his Mohawk name is Aronhiótas. His father was a Welsh-American and his mother is Mohawk
.
Graduate Writing Program, where he had a full fellowship. He earned a Creative Writing AFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts
, where he received the Gerald Red Elk Scholarship in 1990, allowing him to attend the Naropa Institute Summer Writing Program. Stevens briefly attended the School of Visual Arts
and Brooklyn College
in New York.
and the Director of American Indian Studies. He has also been an Instructor of Poetry instructor at Brown University and taught at Haskell Indian Nations University
.
He is an author of numerous volumes of poetry. An international poet with professional invitations to France, Turkey, and China, Stevens spoke at the IIPF in the United Nations in 2006. He formerly taught at Haskell Indian Nations University
and remains a vibrant member of the Native community as well as a leading young American Poet.
in 2005, nominated for a Before Columbus/American Book Award, 2003, he was awarded a Whiting Writer's award in 2000. Nominated for Pushcart Prize
in Poetry in 1996, he received the Kim Ann Arstark Memorial Prize in Poetry in 1993 and the City of Santa Fe Writer's Award in 1994. He received the Creative Writing Award at the Institute of American Indian Arts in 1991, and was a Witter-Bynner Foundation Poetry Grant recipient in 1993.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
poet and academic. He is a member of the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
and currently teaches at the College of Contemporary Native Arts
Institute of American Indian Arts
The Institute of American Indian Arts is a college focused on Native American art. It is situated in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is congressionally chartered, and was created by an executive order of former American President John F. Kennedy in 1962...
in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
.
Background
James Thomas Stevens was born in Niagara FallsNiagara Falls, New York
Niagara Falls is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 50,193, down from the 55,593 recorded in the 2000 census. It is across the Niagara River from Niagara Falls, Ontario , both named after the famed Niagara Falls which they...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and his Mohawk name is Aronhiótas. His father was a Welsh-American and his mother is Mohawk
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
.
Education
In 1993 Stevens earned his MFA in writing from Brown UniversityBrown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
Graduate Writing Program, where he had a full fellowship. He earned a Creative Writing AFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts
Institute of American Indian Arts
The Institute of American Indian Arts is a college focused on Native American art. It is situated in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is congressionally chartered, and was created by an executive order of former American President John F. Kennedy in 1962...
, where he received the Gerald Red Elk Scholarship in 1990, allowing him to attend the Naropa Institute Summer Writing Program. Stevens briefly attended the School of Visual Arts
School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts , is a proprietary art school located in Manhattan, New York City, and is widely considered to be one of the leading art schools in the United States. It was established in 1947 by co-founders Silas H. Rhodes and Burne Hogarth as the Cartoonists and Illustrators School and...
and Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
in New York.
Academic and writing career
Stevens was an Associate Professor in the English Department of SUNY FredoniaState University of New York at Fredonia
The State University of New York at Fredonia is a four-year liberal arts college located in Fredonia, New York, United States; it is a constituent college of the State University of New York...
and the Director of American Indian Studies. He has also been an Instructor of Poetry instructor at Brown University and taught at Haskell Indian Nations University
Haskell Indian Nations University
Haskell Indian Nations University is a tribal university located in Lawrence, Kansas, for members of federally recognized Native American tribes in the United States...
.
He is an author of numerous volumes of poetry. An international poet with professional invitations to France, Turkey, and China, Stevens spoke at the IIPF in the United Nations in 2006. He formerly taught at Haskell Indian Nations University
Haskell Indian Nations University
Haskell Indian Nations University is a tribal university located in Lawrence, Kansas, for members of federally recognized Native American tribes in the United States...
and remains a vibrant member of the Native community as well as a leading young American Poet.
Honors
A finalist for the National Poetry Series AwardNational 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...
in 2005, nominated for a Before Columbus/American Book Award, 2003, he was awarded a Whiting Writer's award in 2000. Nominated for Pushcart Prize
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....
in Poetry in 1996, he received the Kim Ann Arstark Memorial Prize in Poetry in 1993 and the City of Santa Fe Writer's Award in 1994. He received the Creative Writing Award at the Institute of American Indian Arts in 1991, and was a Witter-Bynner Foundation Poetry Grant recipient in 1993.
Published books
- Of Kingdoms & Kangaroo, First Intensity
- Bulle/Chimére, First Intensity
- A Bridge Dead in the Water, Salt Publishing
- The Mutual Life, Plan B Press, 2006
- Mohawk/Samoa: Transmigrations, with Caroline Sinavaiana, Subpress, Oakland
- (dis)Orient, Palm Press
- Combing the Snakes from His Hair, Michigan State University Press
- Tokinish, First Intensity Press, New York, 1994