Claudia Emerson (January 13, 1957 – December 4, 2014) was an American poet. She won the 2006

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...

for her poetry collection ''Late Wife'', and was named the Poet Laureate of Virginia by Governor

Tim Kaine Timothy Michael Kaine (; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virgi ...

in 2008.

Early life

Emerson was born on January 13, 1957, in

Chatham, Virginia Chatham is a town in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, United States. It is the county seat of Pittsylvania County. Chatham's population was 1,269 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Danville, Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town w ...

, and graduated from

Chatham Hall Chatham Hall is a grades 9-12 girls' boarding school in Chatham, Virginia, United States, founded in 1894 as Chatham Episcopal Institute. Tuition for the 2022-2023 school year is $25,725 (day students), $53,025 (5-day boarding), and $61,425 (7 ...

preparatory school in 1975. She received her BA in English from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

in 1979 and her

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts ...

in creative writing at the

University of North Carolina at Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. UNCG, like all members of the UNC system, is a stand- ...

in 1991.

2011 06 03 ~ Carolyn, Claudia, Kelly ~ MaryWashingtonU

Career

Emerson published eight poetry collections through Louisiana State University Press's Southern Messenger Poets series: Pharaoh, Pharaoh (1997), Pinion: An Elegy (2002), Late Wife (2005), Figure Studies: Poems (2008), Secure the Shadow (2012), Impossible Bottle (2015), The Opposite House (2015) and Claude before Time and Space (2018). Three collections were published posthumously, The Opposite House (March 2015), Impossible Bottle (September 2015) and Claude before Time and Space (February 2018). In addition to her collections, Emerson's work has been included in such anthologies as ''Yellow Shoe Poets'', ''The Made Thing'', ''Strongly Spent: 50 Years of Shenandoah Poetry'', and ''Common Wealth: Contemporary Poets of Virginia''. Emerson served as poetry editor for the '' Greensboro Review'' and a contributing editor for the literary magazine '' Shenandoah''. In 2002, Emerson was Guest Editor of Visions-International (published by Black Buzzard Press). On August 26, 2008, she was appointed Poet Laureate of Virginia, by then Governor Timothy M. Kaine and served until 2010. In 2008, she returned to

to serve as The Siragusa Foundation's Poet-in-Residence. She taught at several colleges including

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexington ...

Lexington, Virginia Lexington is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 7,320. It is the county seat of Rockbridge County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines ...

and Randolph-Macon College in

Ashland, Virginia Ashland is a town in Hanover County, Virginia, United States, located north of Richmond along Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 7,225, up from 6,619 at the 2000 census. Ashland is named after the Le ...

. She spent over a decade at the

University of Mary Washington The University of Mary Washington (UMW) is a public liberal arts university in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Founded in 1908 as the Fredericksburg Teachers College, the institution was named Mary Washington College in 1938 after Mary Ball Wash ...

, in

Fredericksburg, Virginia Fredericksburg is an independent city located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,982. The Bureau of Economic Analysis of the United States Department of Commerce combines the city of Fredericksburg w ...

, as an English professor and the Arrington Distinguished Chair in Poetry. In 2013, Emerson joined the creative writing faculty at

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virginia ...

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, where she taught until her death in 2014 from

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowe ...

at age 57.

Personal life

Emerson married musician Kent Ippolito in 2000. The couple lived in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, and performed and wrote songs together. After missing most of the Fall 2014 semester while seeking cancer treatments, Claudia Emerson died on December 4, 2014, in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

at the age of 57 from complications associated with colon cancer.

Awards and honors

*The Association of Writers and Writing Programs Intro Award, 1991 *

Academy of American Poets The Academy of American Poets is a national, member-supported organization that promotes poets and the art of poetry. The nonprofit organization was incorporated in the state of New York in 1934. It fosters the readership of poetry through outreach ...

Prize, 1991 *

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

Fellowship, 1994 (As Claudia Emerson Andrews) *Virginia Commission for the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship, 1995 and 2002 *

Alumni Association Outstanding Young Faculty Award, 2003 *Erskine J. Poetry Prize, 2004 for "Second Bearing, 1919" *

Witter Bynner Fellowship Witter Bynner Fellowships are administered by the Library of Congress and sponsored by the Witter Bynner Foundation for Poetry, an organization that provides grant support for poetry programs through nonprofit organizations. Fellows are chosen by ...

from

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...

, 2005 *

for Poetry, 2006 * Poet Laureate of Virginia, 2008–2010 *

Library of Virginia The Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, is the library agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It serves as the archival agency and the reference library for Virginia's seat of government. The Library moved into a new building in 1997 and ...

Virginia Women in History Virginia Women in History was an annual program sponsored by the Library of Virginia that honored Virginia women, living and dead, for their contributions to their community, region, state, and nation. The program began in 2000 under the aegis of th ...

, 2009 * Fellowship of Southern Writers, Inaugural Winner, Donald Justice Award for Poetry, 2009 *

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the art ...

, 2011 *Elected to Membership, Fellowship of Southern Writers, 2011

Bibliography

Poetry collections

*
Pharaoh, Pharaoh
'. LSU Press. 1997. . * * * * * * *
Claude before Time and Space
'. LSU Press. 2018. .

List of poems

References

External links

*

Website for LSU Press with links to pages for books published

Biography, bibliography and links to poems

Poetry Foundation The Poetry Foundation is an American literary society that seeks to promote poetry and lyricism in the wider culture. It was formed from '' Poetry'' magazine, which it continues to publish, with a 2003 gift of $200 million from philanthropist ...

Biography and links to poems and articles published in

Poetry (magazine) ''Poetry'' (founded as ''Poetry: A Magazine of Verse'') has been published in Chicago since 1912. It is one of the leading monthly poetry journals in the English-speaking world. Founded by Harriet Monroe, it is now published by the Poetry Foundat ...

*Emerson, Claudi
Insistent Places

Southern Spaces ''Southern Spaces'' is a peer review, peer-reviewed Open access (publishing), open-access academic journal that publishes articles, photo-essay, photo essays and images, presentations, and short videos about real and imagined spaces and places of t ...

, October 26, 2009
Claudia Emerson Papers
at the

Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library The Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia is a research library that specializes in American history and literature, history of Virginia and the southeastern United States, the history of the Universit ...

at the

Pulitzer Prize website
Emerson profile
Library of Congress reading (mp3 format file)
Interview and poems * Kooser, Ted
''American Life in Poetry: Column 26—Claudia Emerson's poem "Stable"''
Emerson's poems "Migrane, Aura and Aftermath" and "What They Want" in ''Visions International'' (issue #67)

December 16, 2002 * Cheuse, Alan, ttps://web.archive.org/web/20141207232547/http://withgoodreasonradio.org/2004/05/cheuse-wisely/ Radio interview with Claudia Emerson on ''With Good Reason'' Virginia Commission for the Humanities, May 22, 2004.
Bryne, Edward. "Everything We Cannot See: Claudia Emerson's ''Late Wife''"

Martz, Michael, "Chatham Adds To Literary Legacy"
April 26, 2006 (originally published as "Pulitzer-winning poet from Chatham Virginia: Professor latest with ties to town to bask in literary glory," in the ''Richmond Times Dispatch'' on April 20, 2006).

December 16, 2002 transcript and audio file. * Pinion: An Elegy, by Claudia Emerson", ''Blackbird: An Online Journal of Literature and the Arts'', Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Volume 1, No. 2December 16, 2002 *Emerson, Claudia
"Poems: The Bat, Pitching Horseshoes, Possessions, Surface Hunting", ''Blackbird: An Online Journal of Literature and the Arts'', Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Volume 2, No. 1, (Spring, 2003)
* Chappell, Fred
"Same mine yields different gems," ''Raleigh News and Observer'' review of ''The Late Wife''
on December 25, 2005.
Fellowship of Southern Writers Members Profile page"Poets in Person: Claudia Emerson"
, HD Video in Fredericksburg, VA with Claudia and husband musician Kent Ippolito, ''The Cortland Review'' – Spring 2012 Feature, April 8, 2012.
"Shot Her Dead"
, an original song performed by Claudia Emerson and Kent Ippolito, ''The Cortland Review'' – Spring 2012 Feature, April 8, 2012.
5 new poems in text and audio
, ''The Cortland Review'' – Spring 2012 Feature, April 8, 2012.

''Richmond Times-Dispatch'', September 14, 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Emerson, Claudia 1957 births 2014 deaths American women poets Deaths from cancer in Virginia Deaths from colorectal cancer People from Chatham, Virginia Poets Laureate of Virginia Pulitzer Prize for Poetry winners The New Yorker people University of North Carolina at Greensboro alumni University of Virginia alumni Virginia Commonwealth University faculty Writers from Virginia 20th-century American poets 20th-century American women writers Writers of American Southern literature 21st-century American poets 21st-century American women writers American women academics