Roberta Spear (Sept 26, 1948 in
Hanford, California
Hanford is the most populous city and the county seat of Kings County, California, located in the San Joaquin Valley region of the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley. The population was 57,990 at the 2020 United States census, ...
– April 3, 2003) was an American
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
.
Life
Robertal Spear was born Sept 26, 1948 in Hanford California. She spent her early years in the
Central Valley of California
The Central Valley is a broad, elongated, flat valley that dominates the interior of California, United States. It is wide and runs approximately from north-northwest to south-southeast, inland from and parallel to the Pacific coast. It cover ...
, graduating from Hanford High School. She earned a BA and MA from
California State University, Fresno
California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers 60 ba ...
.
Spear published three books of poetry: ''The Pilgrim Among Us'' (1991), ''Taking to Water'' (1984), and ''Silks'' (1980).
Her work appeared in ''Field'', ''Ploughshares'', ''Poetry'', and ''The Missouri Review.'' She lived in
Fresno, California
Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...
. She died April 3, 2003.
Awards
*
Ingram Merrill Fellowship
* 1979
National Poetry Series
The National Poetry Series is an American literary awards program.
Every year since 1979, the National Poetry Series has sponsored the publication of five books of poetry. Manuscripts are solicited through an annual open competition, judged and c ...
Works
"The Workout", ''The Atlantic'', December 2002 "Conversions", ''Ploughshares'', Winter 1988
*
*''Talking to Water'' (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1985)
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Anthologies
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References
External links
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20121102024446/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-272848.html "Article: Roberta Spear (1948-2003)", ''The Washington Post''
1948 births
2003 deaths
20th-century American poets
American women poets
20th-century American women writers
21st-century American women
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