# Marilyn Nelson

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American poet, translator, and children's book author (born 1946)

Marilyn Nelson Born (1946-04-26) April 26, 1946 (age 80) Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. Pen name Marilyn Nelson Waniek Occupation Professor, author, translator Language English Nationality American Alma mater University of California-Davis; University of Pennsylvania; University of Minnesota Genre Poetry

**Marilyn Nelson** (born April 26, 1946) is an American poet, translator, biographer, and children's book author. She is a professor emeritus at the [University of Connecticut](/source/University_of_Connecticut), and the former [Poet Laureate of Connecticut](/source/Poet_Laureate_of_Connecticut).[1] She is a winner of the [Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize](/source/Ruth_Lilly_Poetry_Prize), the [NSK Neustadt Prize for Children’s Literature](/source/NSK_Neustadt_Prize_for_Children's_Literature), and the [Frost Medal](/source/Frost_Medal). From 1978 to 1994, she published under the name **Marilyn Nelson Waniek**.[2] She is the author or translator of more than twenty books and five chapbooks of poetry for adults and children. While most of her work deals with historical subjects, in 2014 she published a memoir, named one of [NPR](/source/NPR)'s Best Books of 2014, entitled *How I Discovered Poetry*.[3][4][5]

## Early life

Nelson was born on April 26, 1946, in [Cleveland](/source/Cleveland), [Ohio](/source/Ohio), to Melvin M. Nelson, a [Tuskegee Airman](/source/Tuskegee_Airman) and a U.S. serviceman in the [Air Force](/source/United_States_Army_Air_Forces), and Johnnie Mitchell Nelson, a teacher and pianist. She grew up on military bases and moved all across the United States throughout her childhood. She began writing while in elementary school, yet discovered her love for poetry while attending a segregated middle school in [Texas](/source/Texas). Here, she was introduced to the work of African-American poets.[6]

Nelson earned a B.A. degree from the [University of California-Davis](/source/University_of_California-Davis), an M.A. from the [University of Pennsylvania](/source/University_of_Pennsylvania) in 1970, and a Ph.D. from the [University of Minnesota](/source/University_of_Minnesota) in 1979.[7]

## Career

In 1978, Nelson became a professor of English at the [University of Connecticut](/source/University_of_Connecticut) and published her first book, the poetry collection *For the Body*.[6] From 2001 to 2006, she served as [poet laureate](/source/Poet_laureate) of the State of Connecticut.[7] During this time, she also founded the [Soul Mountain Retreat](/source/Soul_Mountain_Retreat). She retired professor emeritus from the University of Connecticut in 2002 yet continued to actively write.

Nelson's poetry has a dominant family aspect, recovery for African-American history as well as the search for sacred in everyday life.[8] She is also known for incorporating the African-American oral tradition into her work.[6] Her poetry collections include *The Homeplace* (Louisiana State University Press), which won the 1992 [Anisfield-Wolf Book Award](/source/Anisfield-Wolf_Book_Awards)[9] and was a finalist for the 1991 [National Book Award](/source/National_Book_Award);[7] and *The Fields Of Praise: New And Selected Poems* (Louisiana State University Press), which won the [Poets' Prize](/source/Poets'_Prize) in 1999[9] and was a finalist for the 1997 National Book Award.

Her honors include two [NEA](/source/National_Endowment_for_the_Arts) creative writing fellowships, the 1990 Connecticut Arts Award, a Fulbright Teaching Fellowship, and a 2001 [Guggenheim Fellowship](/source/Guggenheim_Fellowship).[7] In 2011, she spent a semester as a Brown Foundation Fellow at the [University of the South](/source/University_of_the_South) in [Sewanee, Tennessee](/source/Sewanee%2C_Tennessee).[10] In 2012, the [Poetry Society of America](/source/Poetry_Society_of_America) awarded her the [Frost Medal](/source/Frost_Medal).[11] In 2013, Nelson was elected a chancellor of the [Academy of American Poets](/source/Academy_of_American_Poets).[7]

## Published works

### Poetry books

- *For the Body* (Louisiana State University Press, 1978, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8071-0464-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8071-0464-4))

- *Mama's Promises* (Louisiana State University Press, 1985, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8071-1250-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8071-1250-2))

- *The Homeplace* (Louisiana State University Press, 1990, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8071-1641-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8071-1641-8))

- *Magnificat* (Louisiana State University Press, 1994, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8071-1921-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8071-1921-1))

- *The Fields of Praise: New and Selected Poems* (Louisiana State University Press, 1997, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8071-2175-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8071-2175-7))

- *[Carver: A Life in Poems](/source/Carver%3A_A_Life_in_Poems)* (Front Street, 2001, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-886910-53-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-886910-53-9))

- *Fortune’s Bones: The Manumission Requiem* (Front Street, 2004, notes and annotations by Pamela Espeland)

- *The Cachoeira Tales, and Other Poems* (Louisiana State University Press, 2005, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8071-3064-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8071-3064-3))

- *A Wreath for Emmett Till* (Houghton Mifflin, 2005, Illustrator Philippe Lardy, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-618-39752-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-618-39752-5))

- *The Freedom Business: Including A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture, a Native of Africa* (Front Street, 2008, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-932425-57-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-932425-57-4))

- *[Sweethearts of Rhythm: The Story Of The Greatest All-Girl Swing Band In The World](/source/Sweethearts_of_Rhythm%3A_The_Story_Of_The_Greatest_All-Girl_Swing_Band_In_The_World)* (Dial Books, 2009, Illustrator Jerry Pinkney, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780803731875](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780803731875))

- *Faster Than Light: New and Selected Poems, 1996-2011* (Louisiana State University Press, 2012, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8071-4734-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8071-4734-4))

- *My Seneca Village* (Namelos, 2015, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-6089-8197-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-6089-8197-7))

- *The Meeting House* (Antrim House, 2016, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-9438-2612-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-9438-2612-4))

- *American Ace* (Dial Books, 2016, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8037-3305-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8037-3305-3))

- *How I Discovered Poetry* (Speak, 2016, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-1475-1005-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-1475-1005-1))

### Chapbooks

- *Partial Truth* (The Kutenai Press, 1992)

- *She-Devil Circus* (Aralia Press, 2001)

- *Triolets for Triolet* (Curbstone Press, 2001)

- *The Freedom Business: Connecticut Landscapes Through the Eyes of Venture Smith* (Lyme Historical Society, Florence Griswold Museum, 2006, illustrated by American paintings from the Florence Griswold Museum)

### Collaborative books

- *The Cat Walked Through the Casserole* (Carolrhoda Books, 1984, with Pamela Espeland, various illustrators)

- *Miss Crandall’s School for Young Ladies and Little Misses of Color* (Wordsong, 2007, with Elizabeth Alexander, illustrated by Floyd Cooper, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-59078-456-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-59078-456-3))

- *Pemba's Song: A Ghost Story* (Scholastic Press, 2008, with Tonya Hegamin)

- *Mrs. Nelson's Class* (editor, World Enough Writers, 2012)

### Translations

- *Hundreds of Hens and Other Poems for Children* by Halfdan Rasmussen (translated from Danish, Black Willow Press, 1982, with Pamela Espeland, illustrations by D.M. Robinson)

- *Hecuba* by Euripides, in Euripides I, Penn Greek Drama Series (translated from earlier English translations, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1998)

- *The Thirteenth Month by Inge Pedersen* (translated from Danish, Oberlin College Press, 2005)

- *The Ladder* by Halfdan Rasmussen (translated from Danish, Candlewick, 2006, illustrated by Pierre Pratt)

- *A Little Bitty Man and Other Poems for the Very Young* by Halfdan Rasmussen (translated from Danish with Pamela Espeland, Candlewick, 2011, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes)

### Books for young children

- *The Cat Walked Through the Casserole* (Carolrhoda Books, 1984)

- *Beautiful Ballerina* (Scholastic Press, 2009, photographs by Susan Kuklin, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-545-08920-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-545-08920-3))

- *Snook Alone* (Candlewick Press, 2010, illustrated by [Timothy Basil Ering](/source/Timothy_B._Ering), [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-7636-2667-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7636-2667-9))

- *Ostrich and Lark* (Boyds Mills Press, 2012, illustrated by San artists of the Kuru Art Project of Botswana, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-5907-8702-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-5907-8702-1))

### Anthology contributions

- *Ghost Fishing: An Eco-Justice Poetry Anthology* (University of Georgia Press, 2018)

## Honors and awards

- Kent fellowship, 1976

- National Endowment for the Arts fellowships, 1981, 1990

- Connecticut Arts Award, 1990

- National Book Award finalist for poetry, 1991

- Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, 1992

- Fulbright teaching fellowship, 1995

- National Book Award finalist for poetry, 1997

- **The Poets Award, 1998**[12]

- Poets' Prize, 1999, for *The Fields of Praise: New and Selected Poems*

- Contemplative Practices fellowship, American Council of Learned Societies, 2000

- **Poet Laureate for the State of Connecticut, Connecticut Commission on the Arts, 2001-2006**[13]

- J.S. Guggenheim Memorial Foundation fellowship, 2001 for *[Carver: A Life in Poems](/source/Carver%3A_A_Life_in_Poems)*

- Boston Globe/Horn Book Award, 2001 for *Carver: A Life in Poems*

- National Book Award finalist in young-people's literature category, 2001 for *Carver: A Life in Poems*

- Coretta Scott King Honor Book designation, 2002 for *Carver: A Life in Poems*

- Flora Stieglitz Straus Award for Nonfiction, 2002 for *Carver: A Life in Poems*

- Newbery Honor designation, 2002 for *Carver: A Life in Poems*

- Coretta Scott King Book Award, 2005, for *Fortune's Bones: The Manumission Requiem*

- Two Pushcart prizes [*[clarification needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Please_clarify)*]

- Michael L. Printz Award honor book designation, 2006 for *A Wreath for Emmett Till*

- Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award honor book designation, 2006 for *A Wreath for Emmett Till*

- Coretta Scott King Honor Award, 2006 for *A Wreath for Emmett Till*

- Lifetime Achievement honor, Connecticut Book Awards, 2006,[14]

- [NSK Neustadt Prize for Children’s Literature](/source/NSK_Neustadt_Prize_for_Children's_Literature), 2017.[15]

- [Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize](/source/Ruth_Lilly_Poetry_Prize), 2019. Noted for being "a renowned poet, author, and translator who has worked steadily throughout her career to highlight topics that aren’t often talked about in poetry. Her literary work, spanning more than four decades, examines complex issues around race, feminism, and the ongoing trauma of slavery in American life in narratives poised between song and speech."[16]

## Speeches and talks

Sarah Rebecca Warren. "Telling It Slant: A Conversation with Marilyn Nelson". *World Literature Today*, vol. 92, no. 2, 2018, pp. 57–59. *JSTOR*, https://doi.org/10.7588/worllitetoda.92.2.0057. Retrieved 10 October 2023.

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-pf_1-0)** ["Marilyn Nelson"](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/marilyn-nelson). *Poetry Foundation*. Retrieved October 1, 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-loc_2-0)** ["Nelson, Marilyn, 1946-"](http://lccn.loc.gov/n78037492). *Library of Congress*.{{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_deprecated_archival_service))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Marilyn Nelson: Winner of the 2017 NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature"](https://www.neustadtprize.org/2017-marilyn-nelson/). *The Neustadt Prizes*. June 7, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["In 'Poetry,' The Story Of An African-American Military Family"](https://www.npr.org/2014/02/08/272654805/in-poetry-the-story-of-an-african-american-military-family). *National Public Radio*. All Things Considered. February 8, 2014. Retrieved April 2, 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["NPR's Book Concierge: Our Guide to 2014's Great Reads"](https://apps.npr.org/best-books-2014/). *National Public Radio*. Retrieved April 2, 2019.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ProQuest_bio_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ProQuest_bio_6-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-ProQuest_bio_6-2) "Nelson, Marilyn, 1946–". *ProQuest Biographies*. 2020. [ProQuest](/source/ProQuest) [2471646255](https://www.proquest.com/docview/2471646255).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-poets.org_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-poets.org_7-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-poets.org_7-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-poets.org_7-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-poets.org_7-4) ["Marilyn Nelson"](https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/marilyn-nelson). *Academy of American Poets*. Retrieved October 1, 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Anderson, David (2009). "An Interview with Marilyn Nelson". *African American Review*. **43** (2–3): 383–395. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1353/afa.2009.0036](https://doi.org/10.1353%2Fafa.2009.0036). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [41328615](https://www.jstor.org/stable/41328615). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [161715187](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:161715187). [Project MUSE](/source/Project_Muse) [450912](https://muse.jhu.edu/article/450912).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-cf_9-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-cf_9-1) ["African American recipients of poetry prizes, awards (1987–2015)"](http://www.culturalfront.org/2015/01/african-american-recipients-of-poetry.html). *Cultural Front*. Retrieved October 1, 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-sewanee_10-0)** ["Brown Foundation Fellows"](http://www.sewanee.edu/offices/dean/brown-foundation-fellows/). *Sewanee: The University of the South*. Retrieved October 1, 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-psa_11-0)** ["Announcing the 2012 Frost Medalist, Marilyn Nelson"](https://web.archive.org/web/20170914040018/http://www.poetrysociety.org/psa/poetry/blog/announcing_the_2011_frost_medali/). *Poetry Society of America*. Archived from [the original](http://www.poetrysociety.org/psa/poetry/blog/announcing_the_2011_frost_medali/) on September 14, 2017. Retrieved October 1, 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["Awards"](https://poetrysociety.org/awards). *Poetry Society of America*. Retrieved October 10, 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** ["State Poet Laureate --Former Poet Laureates"](https://web.archive.org/web/20220929215037/https://portal.ct.gov/DECD/Content/Arts-and-Culture/Awards_Recognition/State-Poet-Laureate/Former-Poet-Laureates). *CT.gov - Connecticut's Official State Website*. Archived from [the original](https://portal.ct.gov/DECD/Content/Arts-and-Culture/Awards_Recognition/State-Poet-Laureate/Former-Poet-Laureates) on September 29, 2022. Retrieved October 10, 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-gale_14-0)** ["Nelson, Marilyn 1946- (Marilyn Nelson Waniek)"](http://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/nelson-marilyn-1946-marilyn-nelson-waniek). *Encyclopedia.com - Contemporary Authors*. Gale. 2009.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** ["Marilyn Nelson Announced as 2017 NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature Winner - The Neustadt Prize"](https://www.neustadtprize.org/marilyn-nelson-announced-2017-nsk-neustadt-prize-childrens-literature-winner/). *The Neustadt Prize*. October 30, 2016. Retrieved July 24, 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** ["Poetry Foundation Announces 2019 Pegasus Awards Winners, Marilyn Nelson Awarded Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize"](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/foundation/press/149926/poetry-foundation-announces-2019-pegasus-awards-winners-marilyn-nelson-awarded-ruth-lilly-poetry-prize). *Poetry Foundation*. May 7, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2019.

## Further reading

- Waniek, Marilyn Nelson (1995). ["Owning the Masters"](https://web.archive.org/web/20171122185752/http://www.gettysburgreview.com/selections/past_selections/details.dot?inode=b36a4235-cd4a-4cf6-8c98-e714b1240d28&pageTitle=Marilyn%20Nelson%20Waniek&author=Marilyn%20Nelson%20Waniek&story=true). *[The Gettysburg Review](/source/The_Gettysburg_Review)*. Archived from [the original](http://www.gettysburgreview.com/selections/past_selections/details.dot?inode=b36a4235-cd4a-4cf6-8c98-e714b1240d28&pageTitle=Marilyn%20Nelson%20Waniek&author=Marilyn%20Nelson%20Waniek&story=true) on November 22, 2017. Retrieved November 22, 2017.

- Page, Yolanda Williams, ed. (2007). "Waniel, Marilyn Nelson". [*Encyclopedia of African American Women Writers*](https://books.google.com/books?id=iTWu0aSofkkC). Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 598–599. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780313334290](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780313334290).

- Barron, Jonathan; Meyer, Bruce, eds. (2003). "Marilyn Nelson". [*Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 282: New Formalist Poets*](https://books.google.com/books?id=0UmLnQAACAAJ). Detroit: Gale Group. pp. 233–240.

- Dick, Rodney Franklin (2000). *Creative and Constructive Tensions: A Discussion of the Poetry of Marilyn Nelson*. University of Louisville. [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [46713946](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/46713946).

- [Parini, Jay](/source/Jay_Parini), ed. (1979). ["Marilyn Nelson"](https://books.google.com/books?id=c04OAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Marilyn+Nelson%22). *American Writers: A Collection of Literary Biographies*. Scribner. pp. 171–187. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780684136622](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780684136622).

## External links

- [Official website](https://marilyn-nelson.com/)

- [Marilyn Nelson](https://lccn.loc.gov/n78037492) at the [Library of Congress](/source/Library_of_Congress), with 24 library catalog records

- [Marilyn Nelson Papers](https://archivessearch.lib.uconn.edu/repositories/2/resources/553) - [University of Connecticut Archives and Special Collections](/source/University_of_Connecticut_Archives_and_Special_Collections)

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND FAST WorldCat National United States Czech Republic Israel Catalonia Croatia Academics CiNii Artists MusicBrainz Other IdRef SNAC Yale LUX

v t e Poets laureate of Connecticut James Merill (1985–1995) Leo Connellan (1996–2001) Marilyn Nelson (2001–2007) John Hollander (2007–2009) Dick Allen (2010–2015) Rennie McQuilkin (2015–2018) Margaret Gibson (2019–2022) Antoinette Brim-Bell (2022 - 2025)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Marilyn Nelson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn_Nelson) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn_Nelson?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.