Sarah Rose Nordgren is an American poet. She is the author of ''Darwin’s Mother'', and ''Best Bones'', winner of the 2013 Agnes Lynch Starrett Prize.

Early life and education

Sarah Rose Nordgren was raised in

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

. She has a BA in Liberal Arts from

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College (SLC) is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York, United States. Founded as a Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in 1926, Sarah Lawrence College has been coeducational ...

, an MFA in Poetry from The

University of North Carolina at Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina, University of North Carolina system. It is accredited by the S ...

where she held the

Fred Chappell Fred Davis Chappell (May 28, 1936 – January 4, 2024) was an author and poet. He was an English professor for 40 years (1964–2004) at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He was the Poet Laureate of North Carolina from 1997 to 20 ...

Fellowship, and a PhD in English and Creative Writing from the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

, with a Graduate Certificate in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, where she was also a Taft Summer Research Fellow and a Ricking Dissertation Fellow.

Career

Nordgren’s first poetry collection, ''Best Bones'', was published in 2014 by

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 ...

. The collection, with themes of myth, identity, domestic life, and loss, won the 2013 Agnes Lynch Starrett Prize for a first book. Her second collection, ''Darwin’s Mother'', published in 2017 also by

, is an exploration of evolution, natural science, and humanity’s place in the world, and was a finalist for the 2018 Ohioana Library Association Book Award for Poetry. Nordgren is the recipient of two fellowships from the

Fine Arts Work Center The Fine Arts Work Center is a non-profit enterprise that supports emerging visual artists and writers in Provincetown, Massachusetts. The Work Center was founded in 1968 by a group of American artists and writers to support promising individual ...

in Provincetown, MA, as well as an Individual Excellence Award from the

Ohio Arts Council The Ohio Arts Council (OAC) is an agency serving the U.S. state of Ohio. Its offices are in the Rhodes State Office Tower in Columbus, Ohio. History Established in 1965, its mission is to "foster and encourage the development of the arts and as ...

. She has also received scholarships from the

Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference The Middlebury Bread Loaf Writers' Conference is an author's conference held every summer at the Bread Loaf Inn, near Bread Loaf Mountain, east of Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1926, it has been called by ''The New Yorker'' "the oldest and most ...

, a fellowship from the

Sewanee Writers' Conference The Sewanee Writers' Conference is a writers' conference held every summer on the campus of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. The conference was started in 1989 by founding director Wyatt Prunty and the current director is Leah ...

, and residencies at the

Vermont Studio Center The Vermont Studio Center (VSC) is a non-profit arts organization located in the town of Johnson, Vermont. It conducts the largest fine arts and writing residency program in the United States, with a significant population of international artis ...

and

Virginia Center for the Creative Arts The Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA) is a residential artist community in Amherst, Virginia, USA. Since 1971, VCCA has offered residencies of varying lengths with flexible scheduling for international artists, writers, and composers at ...

. She won the 2012 James Wright Poetry Award from

Mid-American Review ''Mid-American Review'' (''MAR'') is an international literary journal dedicated to publishing contemporary fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and translations. Founded in 1981, ''MAR'' is a publication of the Department of English and the College of A ...

. Nordgren also creates video and performance art with dance and video maker Kathleen Kelley under the name Smart Snow. Their performance installation, Digitized Figures, was produced at the Gowanus Lofts in Brooklyn, NY in 2016. “Territory,” a poetry and dance video, was published by TriQuarterly Magazine in 2018. Nordgren is an Associate Editor for the journal

32 Poems ''32 Poems Magazine'' (''32 Poems'') is a literary magazine, founded in the American states of Maryland and Texas in 2003, that has published poems from writers around the world. About This independent magazine, founded by Deborah Ager and John ...

. She lives in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Selected publications

*''Best Bones'', (

, 2014) *''Darwin’s Mother'', (

, 2017)

Awards

Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize The Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize is a major United States, American literary award for a first full-length book of poetry in the English language. This prize of the University of Pittsburgh Press in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Penn ...

, ''Best Bones'', 2013 *James Wright Poetry Prize from

, 2012

References

External links

Official Site

University of Pittsburgh Press - Author Page

Interview: Yale Radio WYBC

Interview: WVXU Cincinnati

Interview: Memorious Magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nordgren, Sarah Rose Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American women poets 21st-century American poets 21st-century American women writers Sarah Lawrence College alumni University of North Carolina at Greensboro alumni University of Cincinnati alumni Writers from Durham, North Carolina Poets from North Carolina