Reginald Shepherd (April 10, 1963 – September 10, 2008) was 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) R S T U–V ...

, born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

and raised in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

.Reginald Shepherd (1963-2008)

The Poetry Foundation The Poetry Foundation is an American literary society that seeks to promote poetry and lyricism in the wider culture. It was formed from ''Poetry'' magazine, which it continues to publish, with a 2003 gift of $200 million from philanthropist ...

. He died of cancer in

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principa ...

, in 2008.

Biography

Shepherd,

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

and

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

, graduated from

Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont. Founded in 1932 as a women's college, it became co-educational in 1969. It claims to be the first college to include visual and performing arts as an equal partner in ...

in 1988, and received MFAs from Brown University and the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 coll ...

, where he attended the prestigious

Iowa Writers Workshop The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a celebrated graduate-level creative writing program in the United States. The writer Lan Samantha Chang is its director. Graduates earn a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Creative Wr ...

. He subsequently taught at

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a Public university, public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of ...

and

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to ...

. In his last year at the University of Iowa, he received the "Discovery" prize from the

92nd Street Y 92nd Street Y, New York (92NY) is a cultural and community center located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, at the corner of East 92nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Founded in 1874 as the Young Men's Hebrew Association, the ...

, and his first collection, ''Some Are Drowning'' (1994), was chosen by

Carolyn Forché Carolyn Forché (born April 28, 1950) is an American poet, editor, professor, translator, and human rights advocate. She has received many awards for her literary work. Biography Forché was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Michael Joseph and Louis ...

for the

Association of Writers & Writing Programs The Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) is a nonprofit literary organization that provides support, advocacy, resources, and community to nearly 50,000 writers, 500 college and university creative writing programs, and 125 writers' c ...

' Award in Poetry. His other collections include: ''Red Clay Weather'' (2011); ''Fata Morgana'' (2007), winner of the Silver Medal of the 2007 Florida Book Awards; ''Otherhood'' (2003), a finalist for the 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 (state), New York in 1934. It fosters the readership of poetr ...

; Wrong (1999); and ''Angel, Interrupted'' (1996). He is also the author of ''A Martian Muse: Further Essays on Identity, Politics, and the Freedom of Poetry'' (published posthumously in 2010), ''Orpheus in the Bronx: Essays on Identity, Politics, and the Freedom of Poetry'' (2007) and the editor of ''The Iowa Anthology of New American Poetries'' (2004) and of ''Lyric Postmodernisms'' (2008). His work has been widely anthologized, including in four editions of ''The Best American Poetry'' and two

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 ar ...

anthologies. His honors and awards include grants from the

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 federa ...

, the

Illinois Arts Council The Illinois Arts Council is a government agency of the state of Illinois formed to encourage development of the arts throughout Illinois. Founded in 1965 by the Illinois General Assembly, the Illinois Arts Council provides financial and technica ...

, the Florida Arts Council, and the Guggenheim Foundation. His 2008 book of essays, ''Orpheus in the Bronx,'' was a finalist for the

National Book Critics Circle Award The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".University of Pittsburgh Press The University of Pittsburgh Press is a scholarly publishing house and a major American university press, part of the University of Pittsburgh. The university and the press are located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The press ...

, 1994) *''Angel, Interrupted'' (

University of Pittsburgh Press The University of Pittsburgh Press is a scholarly publishing house and a major American university press, part of the University of Pittsburgh. The university and the press are located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The press ...

, 1996) *''Wrong'' (

, 1999) *''Otherhood'' (

, 2003) *''Fata Morgana'' (

, 2007) *''Red Clay Weather'' (

, 2011)

Criticism

*
A Martian Muse: Further Readings on Identity, Politics, and the Freedom of Poetry
' (Poets on Poetry Series,

University of Michigan Press The University of Michigan Press is part of Michigan Publishing at the University of Michigan Library. It publishes 170 new titles each year in the humanities and social sciences. Titles from the press have earned numerous awards, including ...

, 2010) *
Orpheus in the Bronx: Essays on Identity, Politics, and the Freedom of Poetry
' (Poets on Poetry Series,

, 2008)

Anthologies

*''The Iowa Anthology of New American Poetries'' (

University of Iowa Press The University of Iowa Press is a university press that is part of the University of Iowa. Established in 1969, thUniversity of Iowa Pressis an academic publisher of poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction. The UI Press is the only universi ...

, 2004) *''Lyric Postmodernisms'' (Counterpath Press, 2008)

Letters

*''Song After All: Letters of Reginald Shepherd and

Alan Contreras Alan Lee Contreras (born Mar 11, 1956) is an American writer, poet, birdwatcher, and education consultant. He is best known for his contributions to Oregon ornithology and his work in higher education. He lives in Eugene, Oregon, and works part- ...

'' (CraneDance Publications, 2013)

References

External links

Shepherd's blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shepherd, Reginald 1963 births 2008 deaths American male poets Bennington College alumni Iowa Writers' Workshop alumni African-American poets LGBT African Americans American LGBT poets American gay writers 20th-century American poets 20th-century American male writers 20th-century African-American writers 21st-century African-American people 20th-century American LGBT people African-American male writers Gay poets