Tree Swenson

{{Short description|American book publisher}} {{Infobox person | name =  | image =  | alt =  | caption = | birth_name =  | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1951}} | birth_place = | death_date =  | death_place = | nationality =  | other_names = | education = Public Administration (M.A.) | alma_mater = Harvard University | occupation = Book publisher and editor | years_active = 1972–present | known_for = Co-founder of Copper Canyon Press; Executive Director Academy of American Poets (2002–2012) | spouse = Liam Rector (d. 2007) | notable_works = }} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2021}} '''Tree Swenson''' (born 1951) is an American editor and book publisher involved with poetry, independent publishing, and American literary foundations. She was a co-founder of Copper Canyon Press.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.coppercanyonpress.org/about-us/mission-history/|title=Mission & History|publisher=|via=coppercanyonpress.org}}</ref>

==Publishing career== Swenson met poet Sam Hamill at the University of California, Santa Barbara and, in 1972, they formed Copper Canyon Press,<ref name="Gannon"/> an independent press established in Denver, CO and dedicated to publishing poetry. The press eventually moved and is now based in Port Townsend, Washington.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/11/greathomesanddestinations/11havens.html|title=Old Port Town's Appeal Reaches Beyond Northwest|first=Matthew|last=Preusch|newspaper=The New York Times |date=11 July 2008|publisher=}}</ref>

Swenson, a legendary pioneer of the small press explosion of the 1960s and 1970s, was the executive director of Copper Canyon Press, and edited and designed books. She helped publish the work of hundreds of poets, including Nobel Prize winners Pablo Neruda, Octavio Paz, and Vicente Aleixandre, and Pulitzer Prize winner W.S. Merwin.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/20/pleased-by-his-pulitzer-surprised-by-poetry/|title=Pleased by His Pulitzer, Surprised by Poetry|first=Motoko|last=Rich|date=20 April 2009|publisher=|via=newyorktimes.com}}</ref>

From 1984 to 1993 she was the art director of Graywolf Press.<ref name="Gannon"/>

==Foundation work== In 1997, Swenson became the director of programs for the Massachusetts Cultural Council.<ref name="Gannon"/> In April 2002, Swenson was appointed as executive director of the Academy of American Poets and led this non-profit organization for ten years.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/08/arts/poetry-academy-after-budget-uproar-gets-new-chief.html|title=Poetry Academy, After Budget Uproar, Gets New Chief|first=David D.|last=Kirkpatrick|newspaper=The New York Times |date=8 February 2002|publisher=}}</ref> In March 2012, after serving a decade in the latter position,<ref name="PF">{{Cite web|url=https://poets.org/tree-swenson-step-down-executive-director|title=Tree Swenson to leave the American Academy of Poets by Harriet Staff|first=Foundation|last=Poetry|date=January 23, 2012|website=Poetry Foundation}}</ref> she moved on to become the executive director at Richard Hugo House, a writing non-profit in Seattle named for esteemed poet Richard Hugo<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hugohouse.org/|title=Hugo House in Seattle - A Place for Writers|website=Hugo House|language=en-US|access-date=2018-05-31}}</ref> where she served for nearly nine years.

==Hugo House controversy== Before resigning as its executive director in February 2021,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/books/hugo-house-director-resigns-amid-calls-for-racial-equity/?amp=1|title=Hugo House director resigns amid calls for racial equity – The Seattle Times|website=www.seattletimes.com|date=February 19, 2021 }}</ref> Swenson's leadership at Hugo House had been publicly scrutinized,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://southseattleemerald.com/2021/02/09/opinion-hugo-houses-passive-response-to-racism-prompts-writers-to-address-the-violence-of-the-past|title=Hugo House's Passive Response to Racism Prompts Writers to Address the Violence of the Past|first=Luna|last=Reyna|date= 19 February 2021|publisher=|via=southseattleemerald.com}}</ref> most notably in an open letter<ref>{{cite web|url=https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc_L2MTEFgfq8SMO0dSu1YVMJ3ekCGqxAAGt6WAqgNQ9VFwMA/viewform?mc_cid=2ba85f0dd2&mc_eid=9306515368|title=Letter to Hugo House from Writers of Color and Allies|first=Anastasia|last=Renee|author2=Castro Luna, C.|author3=Miscolta, D.|author4=Tahat, D.|author5=Keith, J.|author6=Narayan, S.|author7=Taw, H.|date=14 July 2020}}</ref> signed by prominent writers of color, including Washington's former Poet Laureate, Claudia Castro Luna, and signed by 120 Hugo House students, teachers, members, and fellows. It was reported that while the organization publicly tried to address concerns about diversity and equitable pay, Swenson had hired a white person, whom she believed to be the best candidate, as development director without a public search process. At the time, a group of local writers called for Swenson to resign.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/books/writers-call-for-resignation-of-hugo-houses-director-expressing-concerns-about-structural-and-systemic-racism-at-the-seattle-writers-center/|title=Writers Call for Resignation of Hugo House's Director, Expressing Concerns About Structural and Systemic Racism at the Seattle Writers' Center|first=Moira|last=Macdonald|date=13 February 2021|publisher=|via=seattletimes.com}}</ref>

In response, Hugo House shamefully issued a statement acknowledging that the institution was "a white-led organization with a majority-white staff and board; we are located in a majority-white neighborhood and have a majority-white clientele....Hugo House has benefited from its position of privilege among these unjust systems."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hugohouse.org/racism-at-hugo-house-a-public-acknowledgement/|title=Racism at Hugo House: A Public Acknowledgement|first=Tree|last=Swenson|date=17 December 2020|publisher=|via=hugohouse.org}}</ref>

==Personal life== Swenson was raised in Montana.<ref name="PF"/> She attended the University of California at Santa Barbara in the 1960s. Besides living in Montana and Santa Barbara, she has also resided in Denver, CO, Port Townsend, WA, and Boston, MA. In 1994 she returned to school, earning a master's in Public Administration at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.<ref name="Gannon">{{cite web|url=https://www.pw.org/content/swenson_named_academy_director|title=Swenson Named Academy Director |first=Mary|last=Gannon|date=1 May 2002|publisher=|via=pw.org}}</ref> Swenson was married to poet Liam Rector (1949–2007) at the time of his death.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/liam-rector|title=Liam Rector|first=Poetry|last=Foundation|date=January 15, 2023|website=Poetry Foundation}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110604025512/http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/33 Swenson's bio on the Academy of American Poets website] *[https://www.coppercanyonpress.org/about-us/mission-history/ Copper Canyon Press website] *[https://hugohouse.org/about/staff-board/ Hugo House website]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swenson, Tree}} Category:American book publishers (people) Category:Living people Category:1951 births Category:University of California, Santa Barbara alumni Category:Harvard Kennedy School alumni