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Noah Eli Gordon

ノア・イーライ・ゴードン

Noah Eli Gordon

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1975 （Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.）
Died
2022-07-10 （Denver, Colorado, U.S.） age 47
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Cleveland, Ohio (birthplace) → Boulder, Colorado (worked at University of Colorado) → Denver, Colorado (final residence)

Career

Occupations
poet, editor, publisher, assistant professor (MFA)
Active Years
2000-2022
Affiliations
Letter Machine Editions (co-publisher), The Volta (editor), University of Colorado at Boulder (assistant professor, directed Subito Press), Subito Press (director), Braincase Press (operator), Baffling Combustions (founding editor)
Influenced By
John Ashbery, Robert Creeley, David Shapiro, Carolyn Forché

Awards

San Francisco State Poetry Center Book Award
2009
Work: Novel Pictorial Noise
Organization: San Francisco State Poetry Center
Result: winner
National Poetry Series Open Competition
2006
Work: Novel Pictorial Noise
Organization: National Poetry Series
Result: winner (selected by John Ashbery)
Green Rose Prize
2006
Work: A Fiddle Pulled from the Throat of a Sparrow
Organization: Green Rose Prize
Result: winner
Greg Gummer Poetry Award
2005
Organization: Greg Gummer Poetry Award (selected by Robert Creeley)
Result: winner
Sawtooth Poetry Prize
2004
Work: The Area of Sound Called the Subtone
Organization: Sawtooth
Result: winner
Glosband Fellowship
2004
Organization: Glosband Fellowship (selected by David Shapiro)
Result: fellowship
Jarrell Poetry Prize
2000
Organization: Jarrell Poetry Prize (selected by Carolyn Forché)
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Is That the Sound of a Piano Coming from Several Houses Down?

2018 poetry

A poetry collection that captures urban sounds and events with experimental diction and fragmentary images.

urban lifesoundfragmentationresponse to capitalism

The Word Kingdom in the Word Kingdom

2015 poetry

An experimental collection exploring chains of language and image with meta-linguistic play.

languageimageexperimental

The Year of the Rooster

2013 poetry

A collection of poems that reexamine modern systems and the individual's place within them.

critique of systemsindividuality

The Source

2011 poetry

A poetry book that contemplates contemporary life by combining narrative fragments and found material.

fragmentsfound poetry

Novel Pictorial Noise

2007 poetry / experimental literature

An experimental long-form poetry work employing image and verbal noise; a work that received critical attention and awards.

imagefragmentationexperimentalism

Inbox

2006 poetry

An early collection mixing everyday material with experimental techniques.

everyday lifeexperimental

Bibliography

  • Inbox
  • Novel Pictorial Noise
  • The Source
  • The Year of the Rooster
  • The Word Kingdom in the Word Kingdom
  • Is That the Sound of a Piano Coming from Several Houses Down?
  • A Fiddle Pulled from the Throat of a Sparrow
  • The Area of Sound Called the Subtone

Style & Themes

Literary Style
experimental poetryfragmentary compositionmeta-linguistic play
Recurring Motifs
urban soundcritique of capitalismaccumulation of images

Legacy

Noah Eli Gordon, as a poet, editor, and publisher, contributed to contemporary American poetry through experimental and conceptual work. His activities with small presses, little magazines, and as an educator are also recognized.

Quotes

  • His work was described as "simply dead — nonresponsive, flatlined, toe-tagged, rotting."
    Source: Michael Robbins (essay "Ripostes" in Poetry Magazine) (2013)
  • His poetry was called "delightful" and noted as reacting to big modern systems, above all to capitalism.
    Source: Stephanie Burt (The Nation) (2012)

Trivia

  • Co-publisher of Letter Machine Editions.
  • Served as an assistant professor in the MFA program at the University of Colorado at Boulder and directed Subito Press.
  • Involved with many small presses and little magazines, promoting poetic experimentation.