Arthur Sze (; ; born December 1, 1950) is an American poet, translator, and professor. Since 1972, he has published ten collections of poetry. Sze's ninth collection ''Compass Rose'' (2014) was a finalist for the 2015

Pulitzer Prize for Poetry The Pulitzer Prize for Poetry is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually for Letters, Drama, and Music. The award came five years after the first Pulitzers were awarded in other categories; Joseph Pulitzer's will had not ment ...

. Sze's tenth collection '' Sight Lines'' (2019) won the 2019 National Book Award for Poetry. Sze was the first Poet Laureate of Santa Fe,

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, where he resides and is a professor emeritus at the Institute of American Indian Arts.

Early life and education

Sze is a second-generation

Chinese American Chinese Americans are Americans of Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans have ancestors from mainland China, Hong Kong ...

, born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on December 1, 1950. His parents initially immigrated to the United States following the

Japanese occupation of China The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part of World War II, and often r ...

, and remained in the U.S. after the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...

reignited. He was raised in

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

and Garden City on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

. Sze graduated from the

Lawrenceville School The Lawrenceville School is a Private school, private, coeducational College-preparatory school, preparatory school for boarding and day students located in the Local government in New Jersey, unincorporated community of Lawrenceville, New Jers ...

in 1968. Between 1968 and 1970, Sze attended the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

. In 1970, he transferred to the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

to pursue poetry.

Career

His poems have appeared in ''

The American Poetry Review ''The American Poetry Review'' (''APR'') is an American poetry magazine printed every other month on tabloid-sized newsprint. It was founded in 1972 by Stephen Berg and Stephen Parker in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The magazine's editor is Elizab ...

'', ''

Boston Review ''Boston Review'' is an American quarterly political and literary magazine. It publishes political, social, and historical analysis, literary and cultural criticism, book reviews, fiction, and poetry, both online and in print. Its signature form ...

'', ''Conjunctions'', ''

The Kenyon Review ''The Kenyon Review'' is a literary magazine based in Gambier, Ohio, home of Kenyon College. ''The Review'' was founded in 1939 by John Crowe Ransom, critic and professor of English at Kenyon College, who served as its editor until 1959. ''T ...

'', '' Mānoa'', ''

The Paris Review ''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published new works by Jack Kerouac, ...

'', ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'', and the ''

Virginia Quarterly Review The ''Virginia Quarterly Review'' is a quarterly literary magazine that was established in 1925 by James Southall Wilson, at the request of University of Virginia president E. A. Alderman. This ''"National Journal of Literature and Discussio ...

'', and have been translated into Albanian, Chinese, Dutch, Italian, Romanian, Turkish and Portuguese. He has authored eight books of poetry, including ''Compass Rose'' (Copper Canyon Press, 2014). This latter volume was a finalist for the 2015

. He has been included in anthologies such as ''Articulations: The Body and Illness in Poetry'' (University of Iowa Press, 1994), ''Premonitions: The Kaya Anthology of New Asian North American Poetry'', (Kaya Production, 1995), ''I Feel a Little Jumpy around You'' (Simon & Schuster, 1996), ''What Book!?: Buddhist Poems from Beats to Hiphop'' (Parallax Press 1998), and ''American Alphabets'' (Oberlin College Press, 2006). He was a Visiting Hurst Professor at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

, a Doenges Visiting Artist at Mary Baldwin College, and has conducted residencies at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

Bard College Bard College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains within the Hudson River Historic District ...

, and

Naropa University Naropa University is a private university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1974 by Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chögyam Trungpa, it is named after the 11th-century Indian Buddhist sage Naropa, an abbot of Nalanda. The university ...

. He is a professor emeritus at the Institute of American Indian Arts, is the first poet laureate of Santa Fe and has won three grants from the Witter Bynner Foundation for Poetry. In 2012, Sze was elected a Chancellor of the

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 outrea ...

Reception

The poet Jackson Mac Low has said: "The word 'compassion' is much overused, 'clarity' less so, but Arthur Sze is truly a poet of clarity and compassion." ''Albuquerque Journal'' reviewer John Tritica: commented that Sze "resides somewhere in the intersection of Taoist contemplation, Zen rock gardens and postmodern experimentation." Critic R.W. French notes that Sze's poems "are complex in thought and perception; in language, however, they have the cool clarity of porcelain. The surface is calm, while the depths are resonant. There is about these poems a sense of inevitability, as though they could not possibly be other than what they are. They move precisely through their patterns like a dancer, guided by the discipline that controls and inspires."

Personal life

Sze he lives in

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...

with his wife, Carol Moldaw, and their daughter. Sze also has a son from a previous marriage.

Awards

* Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Writers' Award *

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

, * American Book Award * Lannan Literary Award for Poetry, * Two National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing fellowships * George A. and Eliza Gardner Howard Foundation Fellowship * Western States Book Award for Translation. * Jackson Poetry Prize, 2013 (awarded by Poets & Writers) * National Book Award for Poetry, 2019

Bibliography

Poetry

;Collections * ** * ** * * * * * * * * * ;Translations * ;In anthology *

As editor

* ''Chinese Writers on Writing''. Ed. Arthur Sze. (

Trinity University Press Trinity University Press is a university press affiliated with Trinity University, which is located in San Antonio, Texas. Trinity University Press was officially founded in 1967 after the university acquired the Illinois-based Principia Press. T ...

, 2010).

References

External links

Profile at the Poetry FoundationProfile and poems at Poets.org
* ttp://www.uctv.tv/search-details.aspx?showID=13563 ''Lunch Poems: Arthur Sze'', UCTV, 4-28-08(30 mins, audio)
"Add-Verse" a poetry-photo-video project Arthur Sze participated inSze reading at the Lensic Theater in Santa Fe, New Mexico on 1 April 1997.
Video (30 mins) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sze, Arthur Living people 1950 births 20th-century American poets 21st-century American poets 20th-century American translators American male poets American writers of Chinese descent Chinese–English translators Lawrenceville School alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni Mary Baldwin University faculty Institute of American Indian Arts faculty Washington University in St. Louis faculty American Book Award winners National Book Award winners Poets from New York (state) Poets from New Mexico Writers from Queens, New York Writers from Santa Fe, New Mexico People from Garden City, New York 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Municipal poets laureate in the United States