Richard Shelton (June 24, 1933 – November 29, 2022) was an American writer, poet and emeritus Regents Professor of English at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

. Shelton was born in

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

on June 24, 1933. He wrote nine books of poetry; his first collection of poems, ''The Tattooed Desert,'' won the

International Poetry Forum The International Poetry Forum (IPF) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1966 by Samuel John Hazo in Pittsburgh, PA. Since its inception, the IPF has hosted poetry readings and educational programs by over 800 poets and performers from more t ...

's U.S. Award. His 1992 memoir ''Going Back to Bisbee'', a

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

Notable Book was selected for the ''One Book Arizona'' program in 2007. Shelton also won the ''

Western States Book Award Western States Book Award honored notable works of fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and translation written and published in the Western United States. The award was given annually from 1984 until 2002. Lifetime-achievement awards were also p ...

'' for Creative Nonfiction in 1992 for ''Going Back to Bisbee''. In 2000, Shelton received a $100,000 grant from the

Lannan Foundation The Lannan Literary Awards are a series of awards and literary fellowships given out in various fields by the Lannan Foundation. Established in 1989, the awards are meant "to honor both established and emerging writers whose work is of exceptional ...

to complete two books. His poems and prose pieces have appeared in more than two hundred magazines and journals including ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'', ''

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'', ''

The Paris Review ''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published new works by Jack Kerouac, ...

'', and ''

The Antioch Review ''The Antioch Review'' is an American literary magazine established in 1941 at Antioch College in Ohio. The magazine was published on a quarterly basis. One of the oldest continuously published literary magazines in the United States prior to it ...

''. They have been translated into Spanish, French, Swedish, Polish, and Japanese. In 1974, Shelton established a writer's workshop at the Arizona State Prison, and a number of books of prose and poetry written by men in Shelton's prison workshops have been published, including the writing of authors Jimmy Santiago Baca and Ken Lamberton. Shelton was directing three prison writers' workshops in three units of the Arizona State Prison. His last book, ''Crossing the Yard: Thirty Years as a Prison Volunteer'' is about this experience. It won the 2007 ''Southwest Books of the Year'' award. Shelton died on November 29, 2022, at the age of 89.Acclaimed Arizona Author and Poet dies at 89
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References

External links

Author's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shelton, Richard 1933 births 2022 deaths Writers from Arizona Writers from Boise, Idaho University of Arizona faculty

References

Further reading

External links