Dara Barrois/Dixon (Dara Wier) (born December 30, 1949) is an American poet and author. She has received awards from the Lannan Foundation, American Poetry Review, The Poetry Center Book Award, Guggenheim Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts and Massachusetts Cultural Council. She has been poet-in-residence at the University of Montana, University of Texas Austin, Emory University, and the University of Utah; she was the 2005 Louis Rubin chair at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia. She lives and works in Factory Hollow in Western Massachusetts. Emily Pettit and Guy Gerard Pettit are her daughter and son.

Biography

Barrois/Dixon was born in Hôtel-Dieu,

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, raised in Belle Chasse and Naomi, Louisiana, attended Catholic grade schools in New Orleans and

Gretna, Louisiana Gretna is the second-largest city in, and parish seat of, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, Jefferson Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. "Gretna, Louisiana (LA) Detailed Profile" (notes), ''City Data'', 2007, webpage: C-Gretna "Census ...

, and high school in

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

, attended

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

and

Longwood University Longwood University is a public university in Farmville, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1839 as Farmville Female Seminary and colloquially known as Longwood or Longwood College, it is the third-oldest public university in Virginia and one of ...

. She received a Master of Fine Arts degree in poetry from

Bowling Green University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized progr ...

, 1974. She has lived in Louisiana,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, Georgia,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

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 ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

, and

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, and spent time in

San Miguel de Allende San Miguel de Allende () is the principal city in the Municipalities of Mexico, municipality of San Miguel de Allende (municipality), San Miguel de Allende, located in the far eastern part of Guanajuato, Mexico. A part of the Bajío region, the t ...

, Mexico, and

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

. She writes poetry, prose and a column, "INSIDE UNDIVIDED", on chance, fate and context, from 2010 to 2015 for Flying Object's (arts non-profit) website, and from 2015 on the literary magazine jubilat's website. She has taught poetry workshops and seminars at Bowling Green University,

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

Hollins University Hollins University is a private university in Hollins, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1842 as Valley Union Seminary in the historical settlement of Botetourt Springs, Virginia, Botetourt Springs, it is Timeline of women's colleges in the Un ...

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana, United States. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. Fall 2024 saw total enrollment hit 10,811, marki ...

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...

and for summer or winter workshops in Aspen, Key West, Santa Fe, Virginia, Bennington, and the University of Massachusetts Juniper Workshops (which she co-founded in 2003 as a part of the Juniper Initiative which she co-directs). Barrois/Dixon was married to poet James Tate until his death in 2015. Her daughter from a previous marriage is poet Emily Pettit. They often work together.

Work

Dara Barrois/Dixon has published several books and her work has also been included in recent volumes of ''Pushcart Prize Anthology'' and '' Best American Poetry''. She has also been published in ''

jubilat ''jubilat'' is a widely distributed, highly acclaimed American poetry and prose journal headquartered at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. First published in 2000, it was founded by Rob Casper, Christian Hawkey, Michael Teig and Kelly L ...

'', "'' B O D Y''", ''FOU'', ''Maggy'', ''Make'', ''Matters'', '' American Poetry Review'', ''

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 ...

'', ''Volt'', ''Hollins Critic'', ''Now Culture'', ''LIT'', ''Conduit'', ''

Bat City Review The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 202 ...

'', ''Salt River'', ''Telephone'', ''OH NO'', ''glitterpony'', ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

'', ''

Open City In war, an open city is a settlement which has announced it has abandoned all defensive efforts, generally in the event of the imminent capture of the city to avoid destruction. Once a city has declared itself open, the opposing military will ...

'', ''notnostrums'', ''The Blue Letter'', ''Superstition Review'', ''Fairy Tale Review'', ''

Mississippi Review The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, master's, ...

'', Massachusetts Review, '' Denver Quarterly'', ''slope'', ''Poetry Time'', ''Ink Node'', ''Sprung Formal'', ''Lungful'', ''Scythe'', ''

Tin House ''Tin House'' is an American literary magazine and book publisher based in Portland, Oregon, and New York City. History Portland publisher Win McCormack originally conceived the idea for a literary magazine called ''Tin House'' in the summer ...

'', The Baffler, Mead, Similar Peaks, Io, and other publications. Her poems have appeared on the Academy of American Poets poem-a-day feature, the PEN website, .

Bibliography

* ''Blood, Hook & Eye'',

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

Press, 1977, 1980 * ''The 8-Step Grapevine'',

CMU Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institut ...

Press, 1980 * ''All You Have in Common'', CMU, 1984 * ''The Book of Knowledge'', CMU, 1987 * ''Blue for the Plough'', CMU, 1990 * ''Our Master Plan'', CMU, 1999 * ''Voyages in English'', CMU, 2001 * ''Hat on a Pond'', Verse Press, 2001 * ''Reverse Rapture'', Verse Press, 2005 * ''Remnants of Hannah'', Wave Books, 2006 * ''Selected Poems'', Wave Books, 2009 * ''A Civilian's Journal of the War Years'', The Song Cave, 2011 * ''You Good Thing'', Wave Books, 2013 * ''In the Still of the Night'', Wave Books, 2017 * ''I Would Like to Return the Scarf to You in Good Condition'', Small Anchor Books, forthcoming * ''You Stare as if Staring Were the Start of All Stars'', Pilot Books, forthcoming * ''The Usual Ratio Between Banality and Wonder'', Rain Taxi, 2016 * ''In the Still of the Night,'' Wave Books, 2017 ISBN 9781940696577 * ''Tolstoy Killed Anna Karenina,'' Wave Books, 2022 ISBN

References

External links

Dara Barrois/Dixon's author page at Wave BooksDara Wier's ''Selected Poems''Dara Wier at The Academy of American Poets
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrois/Dixon, Dara University of Massachusetts Amherst faculty Louisiana State University alumni Writers from New Orleans 1949 births Living people American women poets American women academics 21st-century American women writers