Nicole C. Beer (born 1976) is an American poet. A 2017 MacDowell Fellow and 2023

Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon individuals who have demonstrated d ...

, she is Associate Professor of English at

University of Colorado Denver The University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) is a Public university, public research university located in downtown Denver, Colorado. It is part of the University of Colorado system. Established in 1912 as an extension of the University of C ...

(CU Denver) Department of English. One of her poetry books, '' Real Phonies and Genuine Fakes'', won the 2023 Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Poetry.

Biography

Nicole C. Beer was born in 1976 to William R. Beer, a sociologist who worked as a professor at

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...

, and Rose ( Salisbury). She was raised in

Northport, New York Northport is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the Huntington, New York, Town of Huntington in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island, New York (state), New ...

and went to

Northport High School Northport High School is a four-year secondary school in East Northport, New York on Long Island, New York. It serves as the high school for the Northport-East Northport Union Free School District, which includes Northport, New York, Northport, Ea ...

. She later obtained her BA in Sociology (1998) from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, MFA in Creative Writing and Literature (2003) from the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

, and her PhD in English (2007) from the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

. After spending a year as a visiting poet at

Murray State University Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky, in the Southern United States. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper-level an ...

(2008-2009), she moved to the

(CU Denver) Department of English as a senior instructor, before being promoted to assistant professor in 2011 and associate professor in 2016. She was originally inspired to go into poetry after seeing the

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...

poem "

The Tyger "The Tyger" is a poem by the English poet William Blake, published in 1794 as part of his ''Songs of Innocence and of Experience, Songs of Experience'' collection and rising to prominence in the Romanticism, romantic period. The poem is one of ...

" on PBS, and she had been writing poems by the time she was in fourth grade. She became a 2007

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 ...

Creative Writing Fellow in Poetry. In 2009, she joined CU Denver's literary journal ''Copper Nickel'' as their poetry co-editor, and after its founder

Jake Adam York Jake Adam York (August 10, 1972December 16, 2012) was an American poet. He published three books of poetry before his death: ''Murder Ballads'', which won the 2005 Elixir Prize in Poetry; ''A Murmuration of Starlings'', which won the 2008 Colora ...

's death in 2012, she became one of his two literary executors in 2013. Her first two poetry books, ''The Diminishing House'' (2010) and ''The Octopus Game'' (2015), won the

Colorado Book Award The Colorado Book Awards are awards presented annually to Colorado authors, editors, illustrators, and photographers who exemplify the best in their category in the state during a given year. Awards have been presented since 1991. The awards are ...

for Poetry. In 2023, she won the Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Poetry for her next book '' Real Phonies and Genuine Fakes'', which she had worked on during her 2017 stint at 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 ...

. In 2023, she was appointed a

in Poetry. At CU Denver, she teaches classes in creative writing, poetry, and literary studies (particularly in intersection with women's studies and LGBT studies). She also works as a juror in poetry contests, including outside of Colorado and for 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 ...

Prize and The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Beer is bisexual and queer.

Publications

Books

*''The Diminishing House'' (2010) *''The Octopus Game'' (2015) *'' Real Phonies and Genuine Fakes'' (2022)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beer, Nicky 1976 births Living people 21st-century American poets American women poets Poets from Colorado Poets from New York (state) Lambda Literary Award winners Yale University alumni University of Houston alumni University of Missouri alumni University of Colorado Denver faculty MacDowell Colony fellows People from Northport, New York American queer women Queer poets American bisexual women American bisexual writers Bisexual poets Bisexual academics