Jackson Poetry Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 4 (2010) Winner
Harryette Mullen
ハリエット・マレン
Harryette Mullen
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1953-07-01 （Florence, Alabama, United States）
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Florence, Alabama - birthplace → Fort Worth, Texas - grew up → Austin, Texas - college → Los Angeles, California - residence/work
Career
- Occupations
- English professor, poet, writer, literary scholar
- Active Years
- 1980-
- Affiliations
- University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) — Professor of English, Cornell University — faculty / fellow, University of Rochester — Rockefeller fellow at the Susan B. Anthony Institute
- Influenced By
- Civil Rights Movement, Black Power movement, Black Arts Movement, Chicano Movement, Feminism
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Texas at Austin | — | English / creative writing (details vary by source) | — | — | United States |
| University of California, Santa Cruz (graduate studies) | — | American literature / English (graduate) | — | — | United States |
University of Texas at Austin
English / creative writing (details vary by source)
Country:
United States
University of California, Santa Cruz (graduate studies)
American literature / English (graduate)
Country:
United States
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Jackson Poetry Prize | — | — | Poets & Writers | Winner |
| 2006 | PEN/Beyond Margins Award | Recyclopedia | — | PEN | Winner |
| — | Gertrude Stein Award for Innovative Poetry | — | — | Unknown/various | Winner |
| 2004 | Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists | — | — | Foundation for Contemporary Arts | Grant |
| — | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship | — | — | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation | Fellowship |
| 2002 | National Book Award (finalist) | Sleeping with the Dictionary | — | National Book Foundation | Finalist |
| 2002 | Los Angeles Times Book Prize (finalist) | Sleeping with the Dictionary | — | Los Angeles Times | Finalist |
| 2002 | National Book Critics Circle Award (finalist) | Sleeping with the Dictionary | — | National Book Critics Circle | Finalist |
| — | Dobie-Paisano Writer's Fellowship | — | — | Texas Institute of Letters / University of Texas | Fellowship |
Jackson Poetry Prize
2010
Organization:
Poets & Writers
Result:
Winner
PEN/Beyond Margins Award
2006
Work:
Recyclopedia
Organization:
PEN
Result:
Winner
Gertrude Stein Award for Innovative Poetry
Organization:
Unknown/various
Result:
Winner
Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists
2004
Organization:
Foundation for Contemporary Arts
Result:
Grant
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship
Organization:
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result:
Fellowship
National Book Award (finalist)
2002
Work:
Sleeping with the Dictionary
Organization:
National Book Foundation
Result:
Finalist
Los Angeles Times Book Prize (finalist)
2002
Work:
Sleeping with the Dictionary
Organization:
Los Angeles Times
Result:
Finalist
National Book Critics Circle Award (finalist)
2002
Work:
Sleeping with the Dictionary
Organization:
National Book Critics Circle
Result:
Finalist
Dobie-Paisano Writer's Fellowship
Organization:
Texas Institute of Letters / University of Texas
Result:
Fellowship
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Tree Tall Woman
1981 PoetryEarly collection exploring cultural identity and language.
identitylanguagerace
Trimmings
1991 PoetryA collection mixing wordplay with cultural critique.
consumer cultureplayful language
S*PeRM**K*T
1992 PoetryAvant-garde poems incorporating visual and phonetic experiments.
language experimentconsumer society
Muse & Drudge
1995 PoetryPoems addressing creativity, labor, and cultural memory.
creativitylabor
Sleeping with the Dictionary
2002 Poetry (experimental)A long, experimental poetic work that reexamines language and culture using dictionary and vocabulary fragments; was a finalist for major awards.
lexical meaningcultural critiquelanguage play
Recyclopedia
2006 Poetry / compiledA reedited and reassembled collection of earlier works; recipient of a PEN award.
compilationrecyclinglanguage experiment
Urban Tumbleweed: Notes from a Tanka Diary
2013 Short poems / tanka-inspiredA collection of concise poems depicting urban life.
urban lifeeverydayshort form poetry
Regaining Unconsciousness
2025 PoetryRecent work published in 2025.
consciousnesslanguage
Bibliography
- Tree Tall Woman (1981)
- Trimmings (1991)
- S*PeRM**K*T (1992)
- Muse & Drudge (1995)
- Sleeping with the Dictionary (2002)
- Blues Baby: Early Poems (2002)
- Recyclopedia: Trimmings, S*PeRM**K*T, Muse and Drudge (2006)
- Urban Tumbleweed: Notes from a Tanka Diary (2013)
- Broken Glish: Five Prose Poems (2013)
- Open Leaves: Poems from Earth (2023)
- Regaining Unconsciousness (2025)
Adaptations
- Appearance in the documentary: The Black Candle
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- experimental poetry that plays with languagecombines cultural critique with humorvisual and phonetic experimentation
- Recurring Motifs
- slippage of language and meaningidentity and culturesatire of consumer society
Legacy
Harryette Mullen is a leading figure in experimental poetry that blends language play and cultural critique, known for bridging academic scholarship and creative practice. Works like Sleeping with the Dictionary drew critical attention; she has won awards such as the Jackson Poetry Prize and contributed to the reassessment of works like Fran Ross's novel Oreo.
In Popular Culture
- Appeared in the documentary The Black Candle
Quotes
-
“Poetry, in general, is a rule-breaking activity.”
Source: Barbara Henning, Looking Up Harryette Mullen (postcard interviews), 2011 (2011)
Trivia
- Contributed to the rediscovery of Fran Ross's novel Oreo.
- Won the Jackson Poetry Prize in 2010.
- Sleeping with the Dictionary was a finalist for the National Book Award and other major prizes.