Jennifer Boyden (born 1969) is an American poet and teacher.

Life

Jennifer Boyden grew up in Stillwater,

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

. She attended

Creighton University Creighton University is a private Jesuit research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate and underg ...

(B.A., Creative Writing), and

Eastern Washington University Eastern Washington University (EWU) is a public university in Cheney, Washington. It also offers programs at a campus in EWU Spokane at the Riverpoint Campus and other campus locations throughout the state. Founded in 1882, the university is ...

(M.F.A., Creative Writing, With Distinction). Boyden's first book, ''The Mouths of Grazing Things'', was selected by Robert Pinsky to receive the Brittingham Prize in Poetry in 2010 (University of Wisconsin Press). Her poetry is primarily lyrical and imagistic, and her themes often relate to environmental issues. In 1999, she was awarded the PEN Northwest Wilderness Writing residency and lived in an isolated, remote wilderness region near the Rogue River in southern

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

. Her work was influenced by this wilderness immersion. A later environmental project was funded by a grant from Washington State Artist Trust Gap Grants. For this project, Boyden walked hundreds of miles and wrote essays that arose from the walks. Boyden also collaborates with visual artists. Projects that feature her text include work with Buster Simpson and her husband, visual artist

Ian Boyden Ian H. Boyden (born February 16, 1971) is a contemporary American painter, sculptor, and book artist, known for the paints and inks he makes from materials such as meteorites, shark teeth, and freshwater pearls. His paintings are often abstract i ...

, as well as creative nonfiction responding to work by artists such as photographer Peter deLory. She currently lives in

Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trad ...

, China where she teaches at Soochow University. She has also taught at Walla Walla Community College and at

Whitman College Whitman College is a private liberal arts college in Walla Walla, Washington. The school offers 53 majors and 33 minors in the liberal arts and sciences, and it has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9:1. Whitman was the first college in the Pacifi ...

( Walla Walla, Washington).

(

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...

, Washington), The Cambridge Center for Adult Education (

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

), and the

Sitka Center for Art and Ecology The Sitka Center for Art and Ecology, located in Otis, Oregon, United States, was established in 1970 as an entity of the Neskowin Coast Foundation, which was founded May 8, 1970. The Sitka Center was established to expand the relationships betwe ...

( Otis,

). Her main teaching areas are creative writing, poetry, environmental literature, and experimental and cross-genre forms.

Books

* ''The Mouths of Grazing Things'' (2010, University of Wisconsin Press). Awarded the Brittingham Prize in Poetry * ''Roots of Clouds, Transcendence of Stones'' (Sheehan Gallery, Whitman College, 2004). Essays, vignettes, and photographs regarding stones; written with geologist Terry Toedtemeier and artist Ian Boyden * ''Evidence of Night'' (artist book, Crab Quill Press, 2003) * ''Twenty Views of Cascade Head'' (artist book, Crab Quill Press, 2001)

Awards

* The Brittinghm Prize in poetry, 2010, selected by Robert Pinsky (University of Wisconsin Press) * PEN Northwest Wilderness Writing Residency. *Washington State Artist Trust Gap Grant. *Distinguished Alumni Award :*

, Inland Northwest Center for Writers, 2010 :* Blue Mountain Arts Alliance grant awarded for Convergences, a public art sculpture installed in downtown Walla Walla, Washington, 2004.

References

External links

2011 Interview
* Zhang Yunyun

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyden, Jennifer 1969 births Living people Poets from Minnesota People from Stillwater, Minnesota Creighton University alumni Eastern Washington University alumni American women poets Educators from Minnesota American women educators 21st-century American poets 21st-century American women writers