Donald Revell (born 1954 in

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

) is an

American poet The poets listed below were either born in the United States or else published much of their poetry while living in that country. A B C D E F G H I–J K L M N O P Q *George Quasha (born 1942 in poetry, 1942) R ...

, essayist,

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...

and professor. Revell has won numerous honors and awards for his work, beginning with his first book, ''From the Abandoned Cities'', which was a

National Poetry Series The National Poetry Series is an American literary awards program. Every year since 1979, the National Poetry Series has sponsored the publication of five books of poetry. Manuscripts are solicited through an annual open competition, judged and c ...

winner. More recently, he won the 2004 Lenore Marshall Award and is a two-time winner of the PEN Center USA Award in poetry. He has also received the Gertrude Stein Award, two Shestack Prizes, two Pushcart Prizes and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as from the Ingram Merrill and Guggenheim Foundations. His most recent book is ''Drought-Adapted Vine'' (

Alice James Books Alice James Books is an American non-profit poetry press located in New Gloucester, Maine. History and mission "Alice James Books was founded as a co-operative press in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, MA in 1973 by five women and two men: ...

, 2015). He also recently published his translation of

Arthur Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he s ...

's ''

A Season in Hell ''A Season in Hell'' () is an extended poem in prose written and published in 1873 by French writer Arthur Rimbaud. It is the only work that was published by Rimbaud himself. The book had a considerable influence on later artists and poets, ...

'' (Omnidawn Publishing, 2007). Revell has taught at the Universities of Tennessee, Missouri, Iowa, Alabama, Colorado, Utah, and Nevada. He currently lives in Las Vegas. In addition to his writing, translating, and teaching, Revell was Editor of '' Denver Quarterly'' from 1988–94, and has been a poetry editor of ''

Colorado Review The ''Colorado Review'' is a quarterly literary magazine published by the Center for Literary Publishing at Colorado State University. History and profile The magazine was established in 1956. It presents the annual Nelligan Prize for Short Fict ...

'' since 1996. Revell received his B.A. in 1975 and his M.A. in 1977 from

Binghamton University The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public university, public research university in Binghamton metropolitan area, Greater Binghamton, New York, United States. It is one of the four uni ...

, and his Ph.D. from the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...

in 1980.

Honors and awards

* 2017 Nevada Writers Hall of Fame * 2008 NEA Translation Award * 200
Silver Pen Award
* 2005 ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize in Poetry finalist for ''Pennyweight Windows'' * 2005

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 feder ...

Fellowship * 2004

Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize 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 outreac ...

for ''My Mojave'' * 2003 PEN Center USA Award for Poetry * 1992

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 ...

in Poetry * 1991 PEN Center USA Award for Poetry * 1988

Fellowship * 1985

Pushcart Prize The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published 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 ...

Published works

Poetry collections * ''Canandaigua'' (Alice James Books, 2024) * ''White Campion'' (Alice James Books, 2021) * ''The English Boat'' (Alice James Books, 2018) * ''Drought-Adapted Vine'' (Alice James Books, 2015) * ''Tantivy'' (Alice James Books, 2012) * ''The Bitter Withy'' (Alice James Books, 2009) * ''A Thief of Strings'' (Alice James Books, 2007) * ''Pennyweight Windows: New And Selected Poems'' (Alice James Books, 2005) * ''My Mojave'' (Alice James Books, 2003) * ''Arcady'' (

Wesleyan University Press Wesleyan University Press is a university press that is part of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. The press is currently directed by Suzanna Tamminen, a published poet and essayist. History and overview Founded (in its present form ...

, 2002) * ''There Are Three'' (Wesleyan University Press, 1998) * ''Beautiful Shirt'' (Wesleyan University Press, 1994) * ''Erasures'' (Wesleyan University Press, 1992) * ''New Dark Ages'' (Wesleyan University Press, 1990) * ''The Gaza of Winter'' (University of Georgia Press, 1988) * ''From the Abandoned Cities'' (Harper & Row Publishers, 1983) Translations * ''Last Verses'' by

Jules Laforgue Jules Laforgue (; 16 August 1860 – 20 August 1887) was a Franco-Uruguayan poet, often referred to as a Symbolist poet. Critics and commentators have also pointed to Impressionism as a direct influence and his poetry has been called "part-symbo ...

(Omnidawn, 2011) * ''

'' by

(Omnidawn, 2007) * ''The Self-Dismembered Man: Selected Later Poems of Guillaume Apollinaire'' (Wesleyan University Press, 2004) * ''Alcools: Poems'' by

Guillaume Apollinaire Guillaume Apollinaire (; ; born Kostrowicki; 26 August 1880 – 9 November 1918) was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist and art critic of Poland, Polish descent. Apollinaire is considered one of the foremost poets of the ...

(Wesleyan University Press, 1995) Essay collections * ''The Art of Attention: A Poet's Eye'' (

Graywolf Press Graywolf Press is an independent, non-profit publisher located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Graywolf Press publishes fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. Graywolf Press collaborates with organizations such as the College of Saint Benedict, the Mel ...

, 2007) * ''Invisible Green: Selected Prose'' (Omnidawn, 2005) * ''Scholium'' (Poetry, May 2015)

Reviews

In a retrospective review of Revell's work written by

Stephanie Burt Stephanie Burt (formerly published as Stephen Burt) is a literary critic and poet who is the Donald P. and Katherine B. Loker Professor of English at Harvard University. ''The New York Times'' has called her "one of the most influential poetry cr ...

for ''The Nation'', she comments on ''Pennyweight Windows: New & Selected Poems'':

Revell now seeks a poetry appropriate not only to loneliness but to anger and happiness, not only to freighted symbols but to facts, not only to doubt but to faith. What's more, he seems to have found what he seeks.

In ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine,

Lev Grossman Lev Grossman (born June 26, 1969) is an American novelist and journalist who wrote ''The Magicians Trilogy'': '' The Magicians'' (2009), '' The Magician King'' (2011), and '' The Magician's Land'' (2014). He was the book critic and lead technolo ...

wrote about ''Pennywight Windows'':

it takes guts to write more poems about peace, war, God and children, but Revell's are so fresh, it's as if he's the first person ever to do it. He makes you feel how painfully near grace and redemption are at all times, and yet how unattainable.

There is a theme here and in other reviews of Revell's recent books. Stephanie Burt opens her review with a comment about how much Revell's work has changed in twenty years, noting the stylistic evolution, and the increasingly spiritual focus of Revell's work, which Grossman observes in his, and which Revell corroborates in an interview by ''Poets & Writers'': "What's next for me? I am concerned with the governance of heaven, which is mostly silence. Living in Utah and Nevada, I take my current instruction from snow and sand. They are heavenly forms-substantial and effortless. May poems be so."''Poets & Writers'' > ''An Interview With Poet Donald Revell'' > By Nick Twemlow > 04/05/02
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References

External links

Alice James Books Website

''American Poetry Review'' > ''Donald Revell: An Interview''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Revell, Donald Living people 1954 births American male poets Poets from New York (state) Writers from the Bronx Poets from Nevada Writers from the Las Vegas Valley University of Utah faculty University of Nevada, Las Vegas faculty University of Missouri faculty Iowa Writers' Workshop faculty American essayists American translators National Endowment for the Arts Fellows American academics of English literature American male essayists Binghamton University alumni Journalists from New York City University at Buffalo alumni