Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 4 (1996) Winner
Deborah Digges
デボラ・ディゲス
Deborah Digges
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1950-02-06 （Jefferson City, Missouri, US）
- Died
- 2009-04-10 （Amherst, Massachusetts, US） age 59
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Jefferson City, Missouri (birth) → Riverside, California (studies) → Missouri (graduate studies) → Iowa (Iowa Writers' Workshop) → New York (teaching) → Amherst, Massachusetts (final residence; death)
Career
- Occupations
- poet, writer, teacher
- Active Years
- 1976-2009
- Affiliations
- New York University (faculty), Boston University (faculty), Columbia University (faculty), Tufts University (faculty)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of California, Riverside | College of Arts & Humanities | English / Poetry | B.A. | 1972–1976 | United States |
| University of Missouri | Graduate School | English | M.A. | 1980–1982 | United States |
| Iowa Writers' Workshop (University of Iowa) | Creative Writing Program | Poetry | M.F.A. | 1982–1984 | United States |
University of California, Riverside
College of Arts & Humanities
/ English / Poetry
Degree:
B.A.
Period:
1972–1976
Year of Graduation:
1976
Country:
United States
University of Missouri
Graduate School
/ English
Degree:
M.A.
Period:
1980–1982
Year of Graduation:
1982
Country:
United States
Iowa Writers' Workshop (University of Iowa)
Creative Writing Program
/ Poetry
Degree:
M.F.A.
Period:
1982–1984
Year of Graduation:
1984
Country:
United States
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Delmore Schwartz Memorial Prize | Vesper Sparrows | — | — | 受賞 |
| 1985 | Ingram-Merrill Award | — | — | Ingram-Merrill Foundation | 受賞 |
| 1987 | National Endowment for the Arts (grant) | — | — | National Endowment for the Arts | 助成 |
| 1988 | Guggenheim Fellowship | — | — | John Simon Guggenheim Foundation | 助成（フェローシップ） |
| 1997 | Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award | Rough Music | — | Kingsley Tufts Foundation | 受賞 |
| — | Pushcart Prize (two awards) | — | — | Pushcart Press | 受賞 |
Delmore Schwartz Memorial Prize
1986
Work:
Vesper Sparrows
Result:
受賞
Ingram-Merrill Award
1985
Organization:
Ingram-Merrill Foundation
Result:
受賞
National Endowment for the Arts (grant)
1987
Organization:
National Endowment for the Arts
Result:
助成
Guggenheim Fellowship
1988
Organization:
John Simon Guggenheim Foundation
Result:
助成（フェローシップ）
Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award
1997
Work:
Rough Music
Organization:
Kingsley Tufts Foundation
Result:
受賞
Pushcart Prize (two awards)
Organization:
Pushcart Press
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Vesper Sparrows
1986 PoetryDebut collection of poems exploring nature, loss, and personal memory through evocative imagery.
naturelossmemory
Late In The Millennium
1989 PoetryA collection addressing cultural shifts and personal history in late-20th-century America.
erapersonal historyculture
Rough Music
1997 PoetryA critically acclaimed collection dealing with private loss, family, and internal emotional landscapes; winner of the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award.
lossfamilyinterior life
Trapeze
2004 PoetryA mature collection that uses flight and precariousness as recurring metaphors.
flightprecariousnessmetaphor
The Wind Blows Through the Doors of My Heart: Poems
2010 Poetry (posthumous)Posthumous collection including late and previously unpublished poems.
recollectionfinalitypersonal history
Fugitive Spring
1992 Memoir / EssaysA memoir with autobiographical elements, depicting upbringing and family.
familycoming-of-agememory
The Stardust Lounge: Stories from a Boy's Adolescence
2001 Memoir / StoriesA collection of essays/stories based on memories of adolescence, exploring intersections of personal memory and narrative.
adolescencememorynarrativization
Ballad of the Blood / Balada De La Sangre: The Poems of María Elena Cruz
1997 Translation (Poetry)Deborah Digges' translation of Cuban poet María Elena Cruz's poems.
translationcross-cultural exchangepoetry
Bibliography
- Vesper Sparrows (1986)
- Late In The Millennium (1989)
- Fugitive Spring (1992)
- Rough Music (1997)
- Ballad of the Blood: The Poems of María Elena Cruz (translation, 1997)
- The Stardust Lounge: Stories from a Boy's Adolescence (2001)
- Trapeze (2004)
- The Wind Blows Through the Doors of My Heart: Poems (posthumous, 2010)
Translations of Works
- Ballad of the Blood / Balada De La Sangre (English translation of María Elena Cruz's poems)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- lyricalconfessional elementsimagistic description
- Recurring Motifs
- loss and mourningfamily memorynature and landscape
Health
-
Cause of death: suicide (fall)2009年（死去）Her death affected reception of her late work and led to posthumous publications and retrospective attention.
Legacy
Deborah Digges is regarded as a significant contemporary American poet and memoirist. Her work, often probing personal loss and family history, received critical acclaim and major awards such as the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. Posthumous publications and retrospectives have continued to shape her reputation.
Academic Societies
- Academy of American Poets (associated)
Archives
- Correspondence with Gerald Stern (archival collection)
- Tufts University faculty records and related materials
In Popular Culture
- Obituaries and coverage in major newspapers (The New York Times, LA Times, etc.)
- Recordings of readings and lectures available online
Trivia
- Born Deborah Leah Sugarbaker.
- Won the Delmore Schwartz Memorial Prize for 'Vesper Sparrows'.
- Won the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award for 'Rough Music'.
- Translated poems of Cuban poet María Elena Cruz.
- Died in 2009 after a fatal fall at a stadium in Amherst, Massachusetts (reported as suicide).