Ellery Akers (born 1946) is an American writer and artist living on the

Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...

Coast. She is the author of three poetry collections: ''Swerve: Environmentalism, Feminism, and Resistance''; ''Practicing the Truth and Knocking on the Earth'', as well as a children's novel, ''Sarah’s Waterfall''.

Early life and education

Akers is the daughter of Anthony B. Akers, an attorney and diplomat who served as

U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand The United States has maintained a Consul (representative), consular presence in New Zealand since 1838. The first consul was James Reddy Clendon. Born in England, Clendon was a ship owner and merchant who bought land and settled in the Bay of I ...

during the

Kennedy Administration John F. Kennedy's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 35th president of the United States began with Inauguration of John F. Kennedy, his inauguration on January 20, 1961, and ended with Assassination of John F. Kennedy, his ...

. Her maternal grandfather was architect

John Russell Pope John Russell Pope (April 24, 1874 – August 27, 1937) was an American architecture, architect whose firm is widely known for designing major public buildings, including the National Archives and Records Administration building (completed in 193 ...

. Her sister,

Andra Akers Andra Akers (September 16, 1943 – March 20, 2002) was an American actress and philanthropist. A character actress, she appeared in films, theater and television, usually in tough or brassy roles. Early life and education Akers was born in Ne ...

, was a character actress. Akers is a distant relative of

William Ellery William Ellery (December 22, 1727 – February 15, 1820) was a Founding Father of the United States, one of the 56 signers of the United States Declaration of Independence, and a signer of the Articles of Confederation as a representative of Rho ...

, a jurist and signer of the

United States Declaration of Independence The Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America in the original printing, is the founding document of the United States. On July 4, 1776, it was adopted unanimously by the Second Continen ...

. Ellery received a B.A. from

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1879. In 1999, it was fully incorporated into Harvard Colle ...

and an M.A. from

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It was established in 1899 as the San Francisco State Normal School and is ...

Career

Akers has won thirteen national writing awards, including the 2014 Autumn House Poetry Prize, the John Masefield Award, the Poetry International Prize, and Sierra magazine's Nature Writing Award. Her poetry has been featured on

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

and American Life in Poetry and has appeared in such journals as

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 ...

New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. The magazin ...

and The Sun. She has taught writing at

Cabrillo College Cabrillo College is a public community college in Aptos, California. It is named after the conquistador Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo and opened in 1959. Cabrillo College has an enrollment of about 9,700 students per term. Facilities Classes are of ...

Humboldt State University California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt (Cal Poly Humboldt or Humboldt) is a public university in Arcata, California. It is one of Cal Poly (disambiguation), three polytechnic universities in the California State University (CSU) sys ...

Skyline College Skyline College is a public community college in San Bruno, California. It is one of three comprehensive community colleges in the San Mateo County Community College District. It was opened in 1969. Skyline College claims an annual population ...

, Squaw Valley Academy, and

Foothill College Foothill College is a public community college in Los Altos Hills, California. It is part of the Foothill–De Anza Community College District. It was founded on January 15, 1957, and offers 84 Associate degree programs, 2 Bachelor's degree p ...

. She has also taught private poetry workshops. Among her honors are fellowships from the

MacDowell Colony MacDowell is an artist's residency program in Peterborough, New Hampshire. The program was founded in 1907 by composer Edward MacDowell and his wife, pianist and philanthropist Marian MacDowell. Prior to July 2020, it was known as the MacDo ...

Ucross Foundation The Ucross Foundation, located in Ucross, Wyoming, is a nonprofit organization that operates a retreat for visual artists, writers, composers, and choreographers working in all creative disciplines. History Founded in 1981 by Raymond Plank, U ...

, and

Headlands Center for the Arts Headlands Center for the Arts hosts an internationally recognized artist-in-residence program, and interdisciplinary public programs. It is situated in a campus of artist-renovated military buildings in the Marin Headlands, in Marin County, Cali ...

Works

* Swerve: Environmentalism, Feminism, and Resistance, Blue Light Press (January 24, 2020) * Practicing the Truth, Autumn House Press, 2015 ISBN * Sarah's Waterfall: A Healing Story About Sexual Abuse,Safer Society Press, 2009 ISBN * Knocking on the Earth, Wesleyan University Press, 1989, ISBN

Anthologies

*'' The Place That Inhabits Us'', Sixteen Rivers Press, 2010 * ''Short Takes: Model Essays for Composition'', Elizabeth Penfield, Longman, 2006 * ''Inventions of Farewell: A Book of Elegies'', Sandra M. Gilbert, Norton, 2001 * ''Stories From Where We Live: The California Coast'', Sara St. Antoine, Milkweed,2001 * ''Intimate Nature: The Bond Between Women and Animals'', Linda Hogan, Deena Metzger, and Brenda Peterson, Ballantine, 1998.

References

External links

* www.elleryakers.com * www.elleryakersartist.com * www.poetryfoundation.org * www.voiceseducation.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Akers, Ellery Living people 1946 births American women poets Radcliffe College alumni San Francisco State University alumni 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers