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 in poetry, 1942) R ...

and teacher. His latest publication, ''The Selected Shepherd: Poems'', appeared in 2024.

Biography

Reginald Shepherd was born 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 raised in the

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

.Reginald Shepherd (1963-2008)

The Poetry Foundation The Poetry Foundation is a United States 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 philanthrop ...

. Shepherd,

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

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, United States. Founded as a women’s college in 1932,

in 1988, and received MFAs from

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 ' ...

and the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, 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 int ...

, where he attended the prestigious

Iowa Writers' Workshop The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a graduate-level creative writing program. At 89 years, it is the oldest writing program offering a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in the United States. Its acceptance rate is between 2 ...

. 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 in the Carnegie Hill neighborhood of 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 You ...

, 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 Louise ...

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. He began his teaching career in the

Stonecoast MFA Program in Creative Writing The Stonecoast MFA Program in Creative Writing is a graduate program in creative writing based at the University of Southern Maine in Portland, Maine, United States. Stonecoast is one of the oldest low-residency creative writing programs in the U ...

and later taught at

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. It was founded as "Northern Illinois State Normal School" in 1895 by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld, initially to provide the state with c ...

and

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

. Shepherd died of cancer in

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

, in 2008.

Career and recognition

Shepherd’s poetry 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 in 1934. It fosters the readership of poetry through outreac ...

; 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). Shepherd’s 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 are ...

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 feder ...

, 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, 1996) *''Wrong'' (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1999) *''Otherhood'' (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2003) *''Itinerary'' (Maryville, MO: Green Tower Press) *''Fata Morgana'' (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2007) *''Red Clay Weather'' (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2011) *''The Selected Shepherd: Poems'', Selected & Introduced by

Jericho Brown Jericho Brown (born April 14, 1976) is an American poet and writer. Born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana, Brown has worked as an educator at institutions such as the University of Houston, the University of San Diego, and Emory University. Hi ...

(University of Pittsburgh Press, 2024)

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 a university press that is a 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 earn ...

, 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 univers ...

, 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 African-American LGBTQ people American LGBTQ 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 LGBTQ people African-American male writers Gay poets