Debra Nystrom

Debra Nystrom

Professor

430 Bryan Hall

434-924-6631
Contact
Office Hours: MW 12:30-2:00, and by appointment.
Class Schedule: MW 2:00-4:30
Specialties:

Creative Writing

Degrees

MFA, Goddard/Warren Wilson, 1980
B.A., University of South Dakota (summa cum laude), 1976

Books

Night Sky Frequencies and Selected Poems, Sheep Meadow Press, 2016
Bad River Road, Sarabande Books, 2009
Torn Sky, Sarabande Books, 2003
A Quarter Turn, Sheep Meadow Press, 1991

Poems and Stories Published in

Agni Review, American Poetry Review, Antioch Review, Blackbird, Boston Review, Cortland Review, Crazyhorse, Denver Quarterly, Ecotone, Five Points, Harvard Review, Kenyon Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, The New Yorker, North American Review, Northwest Review, Orion, Ploughshares, Poetry Daily, Prairie Schooner, Quarterly West, Shenandoah, Seattle Review, Slate, Southwest Review, The Threepenny Review, TriQuarterly, The Virginia Quarterly Review, Yale Review and many others.

Essays and Reviews

  • “Ecstatic Sorrow:  Claudia Emerson’s Impossible Bottle,” The Virginia Quarterly Review, Winter 2016
  • “Carol Muske-Dukes and the Art of Empathy,” The Virginia Quarterly Review, Summer 2015
  • “This is No Dream,” Kenyon Review, Summer 2012

Anthologized Work In

  • The Mind of Monticello, University of Virginia Press, 2016
  • Good Poems, American Places, Viking, 2012
  • The Kingdom of Grass, Center for Western Studies Press, 2011
  • Bright Wings, Perseus Press, 2009
  • Best American Poetry 2008, Scribner 2009
  • When She Named Fire: Contemporary Poetry by Women,  Autumn House Press, 2008
  • Red, White and Blues: On the Promise of America, University of Iowa Press, 2004
  • Strongly Spent: Fifty Years of Shenandoah, Shenandoah,2004
  • Common Wealth, University of Virginia Press, 2003
  • Birthday Poems, Thunder's Mouth Press, 2002
  • Like Thunder: Poets Respond to Violence in America, University of Iowa Press, 2002
  • Acquainted With the Night, Columbia University Press, 1999
  • The Sheep Meadow Anthology, Sheep Meadow Press, 1999
  • More Light, National Writers' Voice Project, Harcourt Brace, 1994

Honors and Awards

  •  University of Virginia Arts Research Grants, 2016, 2014, 2012, 2006
  • Virginia Foundation for the Humanites Research Fellowship, 2013
  • American Life in Poetry Features, The Poetry Foundation, 2016, 2012 and 2005
  • Virginia Prize for Poetry, 2010 and 2004
  • Academy of American Poets Poetry Month Feature, 2009
  • Writers' Almanac Feature, 2012, 2009 and 2004
  • Best American Poetry, 2008
  • Virginia Commonwealth University Cabell Memorial Panel, 2008    
  • James Dickey Prize in Poetry, Five Points Magazine, 2007
  • Shepard Visiting Writer, University of Wyoming Conference on Social Justice, 2004
  • Hemley Award finalist, Poetry Society of America, 2004
  • PoetryNet Poet of the Month, April 2004
  • Pushcart Prize nominations, 2009, 2008, 2004, 2003, 1990, 1988, 1985, 1984
  • Heart/Borders Poetry Prize, 2002
  • Lantern Society Award for Women's Education, University of Virginia, 2002
  • Boatwright Prize for Poetry, Shenandoah, 2000 and 1994
  • Virginia Commission for the Arts Individual Fellowships in Poetry, 1997 and 1987
  • Balch Prize for Poetry, Virginia Quarterly Review, 1991
  • National Poetry Series finalist, 1990
  • Yaddo Fellowship,1984
  • Hoyns post-graduate fellowship, University of Virginia, 1982

Readings/Presentations (selected)

Aspen Writers Conference, Aspen, CO; Blacksmith House, Cambridge, MA; Bowery Series, New York, NY; Chapters Bookstore, Washington, DC; College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA; Council Fires Cultural Center, Sioux Falls, SD; Dactyl Foundation for the Arts and Humanities, New York, NY; Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH; Elon University, Elon, NC; Hollins College, Roanoke, VA; James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA; KGB Poetry Series, New York, NY; Library of Congress, Washington, DC; Library of Virginia, Richmond, VA; New Jersey Public Radio; Penn State Erie, Erie, PA; Quail Ridge Series, Raleigh, NC; Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY; Sweetbriar College, Amherst, VA; University of North Carolina Greensboro, Greensboro, NC; University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA; University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY; Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA; Virginia Festival of the Book, Charlottesville, VA; Virginia Public Radio; Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC; Warren Wilson College, Asheville, NC; Wyoming Public Radio

Publications

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