Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 32 (2024) Winner
Paisley Rekdal
ペイズリー・レクダル
Paisley Rekdal
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- Seattle, Washington (grew up)
- Nationality
- American
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Seattle (grew up) → Salt Lake City (University of Utah) → Port Townsend (Goddard College low-residency MFA) → Toronto (graduate studies) → Ann Arbor (University of Michigan)
Career
- Occupations
- poet, professor, essayist, writer
- Active Years
- 1998-
- Affiliations
- University of Utah (professor), Goddard College (low-residency MFA), Mapping Salt Lake City (community web project)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Washington | — | — | BA | — | United States |
| Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (affiliated with University of Toronto) | — | Medieval Studies | MA | — | Canada |
| University of Michigan | — | Creative Writing (MFA) | MFA | — | United States |
University of Washington
Degree:
BA
Country:
United States
Bachelor of Arts
Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (affiliated with University of Toronto)
Medieval Studies
Degree:
MA
Country:
Canada
Master of Arts in Medieval Studies
University of Michigan
Creative Writing (MFA)
Degree:
MFA
Country:
United States
Master of Fine Arts
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Guggenheim Fellowship | — | — | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation | 受賞 |
| 2024 | The Kingsley and Kate Tufts Poetry Awards | — | — | The Kingsley and Kate Tufts Poetry Awards (awarding organization) | 受賞 |
| — | Amy Lowell Poetry Traveling Fellowship | — | — | Amy Lowell Trust | 受賞 |
| — | Fulbright Fellowship | — | — | Fulbright Program | 受賞 |
| — | Civitella Ranieri Residency | — | — | Civitella Ranieri Foundation | 受賞/招待 |
| — | National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship | — | — | National Endowment for the Arts | 受賞 |
| 2009 | Pushcart Prize | — | — | Pushcart Press | 受賞 |
| 2013 | Pushcart Prize | — | — | Pushcart Press | 受賞 |
| 2018 | Narrative Prize | Trilogy of poems (“Quiver,” “Telling the Wasps,” “The Olive Tree at Vouves”) | — | Narrative Magazine | 受賞 |
| 2019 | Academy of American Poets' Poets Laureate Fellowship | — | — | Academy of American Poets | 受賞 |
| — | AWP Creative Nonfiction Prize | — | — | Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) | 受賞 |
Guggenheim Fellowship
Organization:
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result:
受賞
The Kingsley and Kate Tufts Poetry Awards
2024
Organization:
The Kingsley and Kate Tufts Poetry Awards (awarding organization)
Result:
受賞
Amy Lowell Poetry Traveling Fellowship
Organization:
Amy Lowell Trust
Result:
受賞
Fulbright Fellowship
Organization:
Fulbright Program
Result:
受賞
Civitella Ranieri Residency
Organization:
Civitella Ranieri Foundation
Result:
受賞/招待
National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship
Organization:
National Endowment for the Arts
Result:
受賞
Pushcart Prize
2009
Organization:
Pushcart Press
Result:
受賞
Pushcart Prize
2013
Organization:
Pushcart Press
Result:
受賞
Narrative Prize
2018
Work:
Trilogy of poems (“Quiver,” “Telling the Wasps,” “The Olive Tree at Vouves”)
Organization:
Narrative Magazine
Result:
受賞
Academy of American Poets' Poets Laureate Fellowship
2019
Organization:
Academy of American Poets
Result:
受賞
AWP Creative Nonfiction Prize
Organization:
Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP)
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
A Crash of Rhinos
2000 PoetryEarly poetry collection exploring memory, identity, and vivid imagery.
memoryidentitynature and animals
Six Girls Without Pants
2002 PoetryCollection of poems addressing youth, embodiment, and anxieties of growing up.
growing upembodimentfemininity
The Invention of the Kaleidoscope
2007 PoetryPoems that use visual metaphors to layer memory, history, and personal experience.
visualitymemoryhistory
Animal Eye
2012 PoetryExplores alterity and the limits of empathy; includes poems that interrogate animal perspectives and human perception.
empathyothernessperspective
Imaginary Vessels
2017 PoetryA collection mixing formal experiment and narrative, moving between personal history and public memory.
memoryhistorynarrative
Nightingale
2019 PoetryPoems that treat song, loss, and testimony; explores musical elements intersecting with memory.
songlosstestimony
West: A Translation
2023 Poetry / TranslationA poetic translation/adaptation engaging the theme of the West, addressing regionality, movement, and borders.
the Westmovementborders
The Night My Mother Met Bruce Lee: Observations on Not Fitting In
2007 Essays / NonfictionEssay collection on family history and cultural hybridity; addresses identity and not fitting in.
family historycultural hybridityidentity
Intimate: An American Family Photo Album
2012 Memoir / Photo albumMemoir that uses family photographs as entry points to intersect family and personal histories.
familyphotographymemory
Appropriate: A Provocation
2021 Criticism / EssayCritical essays on cultural appropriation and questions of appropriateness; a provocation for debate.
cultural appropriationethicsdebate
Real Toads, Imaginary Gardens: How to Read and Write Poetry Forensically
2024 Criticism / PedagogyA practical guide analyzing how to read and write poetry 'forensically.'
poetic analysiseducationcriticism
Bibliography
- A Crash of Rhinos
- Six Girls Without Pants
- The Invention of the Kaleidoscope
- Animal Eye
- Imaginary Vessels
- Nightingale
- West: A Translation
- The Night My Mother Met Bruce Lee: Observations on Not Fitting In
- Intimate: An American Family Photo Album
- The Broken Country
- Appropriate: A Provocation
- Real Toads, Imaginary Gardens: How to Read and Write Poetry Forensically
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- lyric, image-driven styleessayistic blending of personal memory and cultural critiqueformal experimentation and cross-genre techniques
- Recurring Motifs
- memoryfamily and identityotherness and empathyplace (the West, Seattle, Salt Lake)animals
Legacy
Recognized as a significant contemporary American poet. Served as Utah Poet Laureate and exerts influence through essays and criticism; respected for contributions to both poetry and cultural debate.
In Popular Culture
- Work and essays have appeared in major media such as The New York Times Magazine and NPR.
- Founded the community project 'Mapping Salt Lake City,' contributing to the visibility of local histories.
Trivia
- Her mother is Chinese-American and her father is Norwegian.
- Appointed Utah Poet Laureate in 2017.
- Won the Narrative Prize in 2018.
- Recipient of the Academy of American Poets' Poets Laureate Fellowship in 2019.
- In 2025 the U.S. Air Force Academy canceled a scheduled lecture after reviewing her past political posts, prompting debate about free speech.