Marjorie Welish ( ; born June 2, 1944) 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 ...

, artist, and art critic. Welish is a graduate of

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

and received her M.F.A. degree from

Vermont College Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) is a private graduate-level college affiliated with California Institute of the Arts. It offers Master's degrees in a low-residency format. Its faculty includes Pulitzer Prize finalists, National Book Award wi ...

and

Norwich University Norwich University is a private university in Northfield, Vermont, United States. The university was founded in 1819 as the "American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy". It is the oldest of six senior military college, senior militar ...

. She also studied at the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school in the American Fine Arts Society in Manhattan, New York City. The Arts Students League is known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may study f ...

. She lives 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 ...

and teaches art and literary criticism and art history at

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has an additional campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The institute was founded in 18 ...

; she has also frequently taught poetry 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 ' ...

. Welish was the Judith E. Wilson Visiting Poetry Fellow at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in 2005. Welish's ''The Annotated 'Here' and Selected Poems'' was a finalist for the

Lenore Marshall Prize The Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize is administered by the Academy of American Poets selected by the New Hope Foundation in 1994. Established in 1975, this $25,000 award recognizes the most outstanding book of poetry published in the United States in ...

from 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 ...

. Her writing on art has appeared in '' Art in America'', ''Art International'', ''Art News'', ''

BOMB (magazine) ''Bomb'' (stylized in all caps as ''BOMB'') is an American arts magazine edited by artists and writers, published quarterly in print and daily online. It is composed primarily of interviews between creative people working in a variety of discipli ...

'', ''

Partisan Review ''Partisan Review'' (''PR'') was a left-wing small-circulation quarterly "little magazine" dealing with literature, politics, and cultural commentary published in New York City. The magazine was launched in 1934 by the Communist Party USA–affi ...

'', and ''Salmagundi''. A collection of her art criticism came out in 1999 entitled, ''Signifying Art: Essays on Art after 1960''. In April 2001, a conference at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

was held to compile ''Of the Diagram: The Work of Marjorie Welish'' (Cambridge University Press), a retrospective collection of papers and presentations given on her work, as well as a selection of Welish's writing and painting. She has received grants and fellowships from the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation, the Djerassi Foundation, the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, Fifth Floor Foundation, the Howard Foundation, the International Studio Program, 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 ...

Fellowship,

Pollock-Krasner Foundation The Pollock-Krasner Foundation was established in 1985 for the purpose of providing funding to visual artists internationally to further their artistic practices. It was established at the bequest of Lee Krasner, who was an American abstract expr ...

, and the Trust for Mutual Understanding. Welish serves on the board of the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP).

Bibliography

*''A Complex Sentence'' (

Coffee House Press Coffee House Press is a nonprofit independent press based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The press’s goal is to "produce books that celebrate imagination, innovation in the craft of writing, and the many authentic voices of the American experience ...

, 2021) *''So What So That'' (Coffee House Press, 2016) *''In the Futurity Lounge'' (Coffee House Press, 2012) *''Isle of the Signatories'' (Coffee House Press, 2008) *''Word Group'' (Coffee House Press, 2004) *''Of the Diagram: The Work of Marjorie Welish'' (Slought Foundation, 2003) *''The Annotated "Here" and Selected Poems'' (Coffee House Press, 2000) *"Signifying Art: Essays on Art after 1960" (Cambridge University Press, 1999) *''Casting Sequences'' (University of Georgia Press, 1993) *''The Windows Flew Open'' (Burning Deck, 1991) *''Two Poems'' (Z Press, 1981) *''Handwritten'' (Sun Press, 1979). Welish's poems have been anthologized in: *''Best American Poetry 1988'' (edited by

John Ashbery John Lawrence Ashbery (July 28, 1927 – September 3, 2017) was an American poet and art critic. Ashbery is considered the most influential American poet of his time. Oxford University literary critic John Bayley wrote that Ashbery "sounded, in ...

) *''Experimental Poetry in America 1950 to the Present: A Norton Anthology'' (Sun and Moon Press 1994) *''From the Other Side of the Century: New American Poetry 1960–1990'' (1994) *''Moving Borders: Three Decades of Innovative Writing by Women'' (1998)

References

External links

*
Marjorie Welish on Barbara Guest

Marjorie Welish at the Slought Foundation

Marjorie Welish Paintings
* Marjorie Welish Papers. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Welish, Marjorie 1944 births Living people Vermont College of Fine Arts alumni Norwich University alumni Columbia University alumni American women poets 20th-century American poets 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American poets 21st-century American women writers 20th-century American painters 20th-century American women painters 21st-century American painters 21st-century American women painters