David St. John
David
St. John was born in Fresno, California in 1949 and educated at California
State University, Fresno, where he received his BA. In 1974, he received an MFA
from the University of Iowa. He is the author of The Face: A Novella in Verse
(Harper Perennial, 2005); Prism
(Arctos Press, 2002); The Red Leaves of
Night (Harper Press, 2000); In
the Pines: Lost Poems (1999); Study for the World's Body: New and Selected Poems
(1994), which was nominated for the National Book Award; Terraces of Rain: An Italian Sketchbook
(1991); No Heaven
(1985); The Shore
(1980); and Hush
(1976). He is also the author of a volume essays and interviews, Where the Angels Come Toward Us
(White Pine Press, 1995), and has edited numerous collections, including The Pushcart Book of Poetry
(2006) and American Hybrid: A
Norton Anthology of New Poetry (2009), which he co-edited with Cole Swenson. His awards
include the Discover/The
Nation prize, the James D. Phelan Prize, and the Prix de Rome
fellowship in literature. He has also received several National Endowment for
the Arts Fellowships and a Guggenheim Fellowship. St. John currently teaches in
the English Department at University of Southern California, Los Angeles.
Additional
Links:
"Francesco and Clare," "Iris," "Los Angeles 1954," full text
"Lunch Poems: David St John." Full-length reading recorded April 1, 2004
"Elegy
('Who keeps the owl's breath?')," "Gin," "Hush,"
"Lucifer in Starlight," "Meditation," "The
Shore," "Wavelength," full text; audio of "From a
Daybook," "Rhapsody," "The Avenues," and "The
Doors" Poetry Foundation
"Black
Light (II)," "Chestnut," "Murk," "Nero," "Zuni
Ring," full text, Blackbird Archive
"A Conversation with David St. John." Interview, University of Southern California News, February 10, 2010