World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Eleni Sikelianos

エレニ・シケリアノス

Eleni Sikelianos

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1965-01-01 （California, USA）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
California (born) → Rhode Island (resident; Professor at Brown University)

Career

Occupations
Poet, Writer, Professor of Literary Arts
Active Years
1990-
Affiliations
Brown University (Literary Arts), University of Denver (former faculty), Naropa (teaching), Bard College (Clemente Program teaching)
Influenced By
Lynn Margulis, D'Arcy Wentworth Thomas, Anne Waldman, Family literary heritage (e.g. Angelos Sikelianos)
Influenced
Eryn Green, Jennifer Elise Foerster

Education

Naropa University
Writing & Poetics
Degree: MFA
Country: United States
Reportedly obtained an MFA from Naropa after leaving high school (citation needed).

Awards

Bogliasco Fellowship
2022
Organization: Bogliasco Foundation
Result: 受賞
Yaddo Fellowship
1999
Organization: Yaddo
Result: レジデンシー
Yaddo Fellowship
2003
Organization: Yaddo
Result: レジデンシー
Yaddo Fellowship
2004
Organization: Yaddo
Result: レジデンシー
Yaddo Fellowship
2021
Organization: Yaddo
Result: レジデンシー
Ucross Foundation Fellowship
2021
Organization: Ucross Foundation
Result: レジデンシー
The Helen Riaboff Whiteley Center
2016
Organization: The Helen Riaboff Whiteley Center
Result: レジデンシー
National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship (Poetry)
1995
Organization: National Endowment for the Arts
Result: フェローシップ
National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship (Poetry)
2015
Organization: National Endowment for the Arts
Result: フェローシップ
Lannan Foundation Residency
2011
Organization: Lannan Foundation
Result: レジデンシー
Bourse de traduction, Centre national du livre
2010
Organization: Centre national du livre
Result: 助成
Belles Etrangères Fellow
2009
Organization: Centre national du livre (Belles Étrangères)
Result: フェロー
National Poetry Series
2002
Work: The Monster Lives of Boys & Girls
Organization: National Poetry Series
Result: 選出/刊行
Princeton University Seeger Fellowship
2001
Organization: Princeton University
Result: フェローシップ
New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship (Non-fiction Literature)
2001
Organization: New York Foundation for the Arts
Result: フェローシップ
Fulbright Scholar (Greece)
1999
Organization: Fulbright
Result: 奨学金/滞在
Fulbright Scholar (Greece)
2000
Organization: Fulbright
Result: 奨学金/滞在
New York State Council for the Arts Translation Grant (Verses on Bird)
2000
Work: Verses on Bird
Organization: New York State Council on the Arts
Result: 助成
James D. Phelan Award
1999
Work: Blue Guide
Organization: James D. Phelan Award
Result: 受賞
La Maison des Écrivains Étrangers et des Traducteurs Fellowship
1999
Organization: La Maison des Écrivains Étrangers et des Traducteurs
Result: フェローシップ
Gertrude Stein Awards for Innovative American Writing
1995
Organization: Gertrude Stein Awards
Result: 受賞
Gertrude Stein Awards for Innovative American Writing
1997
Organization: Gertrude Stein Awards
Result: 受賞
California Arts Council Residency Grant
Organization: California Arts Council
Result: 助成/レジデンシー

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Your Kingdom

2023 Poetry

A recent poetry collection exploring bodies, nature, and memory through vivid images.

bodymemorynature

What I Knew

2019 Poetry

Contains poems that intersect personal memory with scientific thinking.

memorysciencefamily

Make Yourself Happy

2017 Poetry

An experimental collection combining fragmentary images and voices.

voicefragmentationexperimental poetry

The Loving Detail of the Living and the Dead

2013 Poetry

Explores embodiment and memory through attention to living and dead details.

life and deathbodydetail

Body Clock

2008 Poetry

An experimental collection themed around bodily rhythms and sensations.

bodybiological rhythmstime

The California Poem

2004 Poetry

A poetic exploration of California, the author's place of upbringing.

placeoriginslandscape

The Monster Lives of Boys & Girls

2003 Poetry

Poems dealing with youth and monstrosity; selected by the National Poetry Series.

youthmonstrosityidentity

Earliest Worlds

2001 Poetry

Contains early works themed around origins and formation.

originsformationnatural history

The Book of Tendons

1997 Poetry

A poetry collection using tendons as a metaphor for bodily connections.

bodyconnectioninterdependence

The Book of Jon

2004 Hybrid memoir / Nonfiction

A hybrid nonfiction work combining memoir and poetic fragments.

memoryfamilynarrative

You Animal Machine

2014 Hybrid memoir (The Golden Greek)

A hybrid work weaving personal history with biological observations.

biologyfamilyself

Bibliography

  • Your Kingdom
  • What I Knew
  • Make Yourself Happy
  • The Loving Detail of the Living and the Dead
  • Body Clock
  • The California Poem
  • The Monster Lives of Boys & Girls
  • Earliest Worlds
  • The Book of Tendons
  • To Speak While Dreaming
  • The Book of Jon
  • You Animal Machine

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Experimental, avant-garde poetic styleIntegration of scientific idiomLayered, fragmentary images and voices
Recurring Motifs
body and bodily functionsbiological / natural history imageryfamily and memoryGreek heritage

Legacy

Eleni Sikelianos is a contemporary American poet known for introducing scientific concerns into experimental poetry. As a professor at Brown University she has mentored younger writers. She has received numerous international residencies and fellowships and is regarded as an important voice in contemporary poetry.

Trivia

  • Great-granddaughter of Greek poet Angelos Sikelianos and Eva Palmer-Sikelianos.
  • Reportedly dropped out of high school and later earned an MFA at Naropa (citation needed).
  • Married to writer Laird Hunt.
  • Served as poet-in-residence at homeless shelters in San Francisco in the early-to-mid 1990s.