# Shara Lessley

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{{short description|American poet}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
'''Shara Lessley''' is an American poet and essayist.

== Early life ==
Lessley was born in [Visalia, California](/source/Visalia%2C_California) in 1975.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Rekdal |editor1-first=Paisley |editor2-last=Lehman |editor2-first=David |title=The Best American Book of Poetry 2020 |date=2020 |publisher=Scribner |isbn=978-1982106607 |page=240}}</ref> She attended the [University of California, Irvine](/source/University_of_California%2C_Irvine). An [ArtsBridge](/source/ArtsBridge) Scholar, she earned undergraduate degrees in English and Dance. Shara received an M.F.A. in Poetry from the [University of Maryland](/source/University_of_Maryland%2C_College_Park)'s creative writing program.

== Career ==
Lessley is the author of two full-length collections of poetry, ''The Explosive Expert's Wife'' ([University of Wisconsin Press](/source/University_of_Wisconsin_Press)), a Rumpus Poetry Book selection, and ''Two-Headed Nightingale'' ([New Issues Poetry & Prose](/source/New_Issues_Poetry_%26_Prose)). With the poet Bruce Snider, Lessley co-edited ''The Poem's Country: Place & Poetic Practice'' (Pleiades Press), an anthology of essays.

Lessley's writing has been published widely, appearing in newspapers and magazines such as ''[The San Francisco Chronicle](/source/San_Francisco_Chronicle)'',<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/books/article/State-Lines-Shara-Lessley-s-Lines-Following-12746877.php|title=State Lines: Shara Lessley's 'Lines Following a Husband's Departure'|date=March 12, 2018|work=San Francisco Chronicle|access-date=26 November 2018}}</ref> ''Poetry Daily''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://poems.com/poem.php?date=17724|title=Poetry Daily: The Accused Terrorist's Wife, by Shara Lessley|website=poems.com|access-date=26 November 2018}}</ref>'','' ''[The Kenyon Review](/source/The_Kenyon_Review)'',<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.kenyonreview.org/journal/janfeb-2017/selections/shara-lessley/|title=Letter to Bruce in Paradise, Indiana {{!}} Journal|work=The Kenyon Review|access-date=26 November 2018}}</ref> ''[Missouri Review](/source/The_Missouri_Review)'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.missourireview.com/article/poetry-feature-shara-lessley/|title=The Missouri Review " Poetry Feature: Shara Lessley|website=missourireview.com|access-date=26 November 2018}}</ref> and ''[32 Poems](/source/32_Poems)'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://32poems.com/poem/shara-lessley/|title=Shara Lessley {{!}} 32 Poems Magazine|website=32poems.com|access-date=26 November 2018}}</ref> as well as in numerous anthologies. Her poems have earned awards including ''[Southern Indiana Review](/source/Southern_Indiana_Review)''<nowiki/>'s [Patricia Aakhus](/source/Patricia_Aakhus) Award for the best work across all genres in a given year, the Collins Prize from ''Birmingham Poetry Review'', New England Poetry Club's 2015 Erika Mumford Prize, and a Discovery / ''The Nation'' Prize<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thenation.com/article/discoverythe-nation-06-prizewinners/|title=Discovery/The Nation '06 Prizewinners {{!}} The Nation|last=Schulman|first=Grace|access-date=26 November 2018|issn=0027-8378}}</ref> from ''[The Nation](/source/The_Nation)'', among others. The editors of ''[Best American Essays](/source/The_Best_American_Essays) 2016'' listed Lessley's "Point Blank" as a "Notable Essay''.''"

Lessley is a contributing editor at ''West Branch'', where she writes an annual column on contemporary poetry. Lessley is also the assistant poetry editor<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.acre-books.com/about-us/staff/|title=Staff|work=Acre Books|access-date=26 November 2018}}</ref> for Acre Books. She has taught literature and writing both in the United States and abroad at universities and schools including [University of Wisconsin–Madison](/source/University_of_Wisconsin%E2%80%93Madison), [Colgate University](/source/Colgate_University), [Washington College](/source/Washington_College), and The Gilman School, as well as for [Stanford University](/source/Stanford_University)'s Online Continuing Studies Program for creative writing. She was the inaugural Anne-Spencer-Poet-in-Residence<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://randolphcollege.blogspot.com/2013/11/visiting-writer-positions-named.html|title=Visiting writer positions named for Pearl S. Buck and Anne Spencer|date=November 13, 2013|website=Visiting writer positions named for Pearl S. Buck and Anne Spencer {{!}} Randolph College|access-date=26 November 2018}}</ref> at [Randolph College](/source/Randolph_College).

== Select awards and fellowships ==

* [Wallace Stegner Fellowship](/source/Stegner_Fellowship) in Poetry: Stanford University (2003–2005)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://creativewriting.stanford.edu/stegner-fellowship/current-fellows/former-stegner-fellows|title=Former Stegner Fellows {{!}} Creative Writing Program|website=creativewriting.stanford.edu|access-date=26 November 2018}}</ref>
* [http://www.colgate.edu/academics/departments-and-programs/english/creative-writing-fellows Olive B. O'Connor Fellowship in Creative Writing]: [Colgate University](/source/Colgate_University) (2006)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.colgate.edu/academics/departments-and-programs/english/creative-writing-fellows|title=Olive B O'Connor Fellowship – Department of English|website=colgate.edu|access-date=26 November 2018}}</ref>
* [https://www.gilman.edu/academics/tickner-writing-center/tickner-writing-fellow Reginald S. Tickner Fellowship] in Creative Writing: The Gilman School (2007)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gilman.edu/academics/tickner-writing-center/tickner-writing-fellow|title=Gilman School – Tickner Writing Fellow|website=gilman.edu|access-date=26 November 2018}}</ref>
* [https://creativewriting.wisc.edu/fellowships.html Diane K. Middlebrook Poetry Fellowship]: University of Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing (2008)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://creativewriting.wisc.edu/fellows.html#former|title=WI Institute for Creative Writing Fellows|website=WI Institute for Creative Writing|access-date=26 November 2018}}</ref>
* [John Ciardi](/source/John_Ciardi) Scholar in Poetry: [Bread Loaf Writers' Conference](/source/Bread_Loaf_Writers'_Conference) (<nowiki>http://www.middlebury.edu/bread-loaf-conferences</nowiki>) (2008)
* [North Carolina Arts Council](/source/North_Carolina_Arts_Council): Artist Fellowship (2010)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://files.nc.gov/ncarts/pdf/NCAC_Fellowship_Index.pdf|title=North Carolina Arts Council Fellowship Recipients|website=North Carolina Arts Council}} [https://www.ncarts.org/ Alt URL]</ref>
* [https://www.washcoll.edu/centers/lithouse/programs/mary-wood-douglas-wallop-fellowships.php Mary Wood Fellowship]: Washington College, Rose O'Neill Literary House (2014)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washcoll.edu/live/news/2409-lit-house-announces-2014-mary-wood-fellow|title=Lit House Announces 2014 Mary Wood Fellow|website=washcoll.edu|access-date=26 November 2018}}</ref>
* [National Endowment for the Arts](/source/National_Endowment_for_the_Arts): Individual Fellowship in Poetry (2015)<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.arts.gov/nea-literature-fellowships/shara-lessley|title=Shara Lessley|date=May 30, 2018|work=NEA|access-date=26 November 2018}}</ref>

== Books ==

* ''The Explosive Expert's Wife'' ([University of Wisconsin Press](/source/University_of_Wisconsin_Press), 2018)
* ''The Poem's Country: Place & Poetic Practice'' (Pleiades Press, 2018) co-editor
* ''Two-Headed Nightingale'' ([New Issues Poetry & Prose](/source/New_Issues_Poetry_%26_Prose), 2012)

== References ==
{{reflist}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lessley, Shara}}
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:Living people
Category:21st-century American poets
Category:21st-century American women poets

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