James Galvin (born 1951) is the author of seven volumes of poetry, a memoir, and a novel. He teaches at theIowa Writers' Workshop inIowa City, Iowa.

Galvin was born inChicago, Illinois, in 1951 and was raised inNorthern Colorado. He earned a BA fromAntioch College in 1974 and an MFA from theUniversity of Iowa Writers' Workshop in 1977.^[1][2]

After receiving his MFA, Galvin taught atMurray State University in Kentucky for two years andHumboldt State University in California for three years. He later joined the faculty at the prestigiousIowa Writers' Workshop, where he continues to teach each year.^[1][2]

Galvin has published seven poetry collections and a compilation of his work,Resurrection Update: Collected Poems 1975–1997 (Copper Canyon Press, 1997). Galvin has also written a memoir,The Meadow, (Henry Holt, 1992), which recounts the hundred-year history of the ranch he owns on theColorado–Wyoming border;^[3] and the novelFencing the Sky (Henry Holt, 1999), about the destruction ofrangelands and concomitant social changes in thewestern United States.^[4]

Galvin has been the recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Ingram Merrill Foundation, and the Guggenheim Foundation.^[5]

Galvin divides his time betweenIowa City andWyoming.^[2]

• Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Foundation Award^[5]
• Lannan Literary Award 2002 forX: Poems^[6]
• Guggenheim Fellowship^[5]
• Ingram Merrill Fellowship^[5]
• National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship^[5]
• Finalist, theLos Angeles Times Book Award and theLenore Marshall Poetry Prize forResurrection Update: Collected Poems 1975-1997^[5]

• Everything We Always Knew Was True (Copper Canyon Press, 2016)
• As Is (Copper Canyon Press, 2009)
• X: Poems (Copper Canyon Press, 2003)
• Resurrection Update: Collected Poems 1975-1997 (Copper Canyon Press, 1997)
• Lethal Frequencies (Copper Canyon Press, 1995)
• Elements (Copper Canyon Press, 1988)
• God's Mistress (Harper Collins, 1984)
• Imaginary Timber (Doubleday, 1980)

• The Meadow (Henry Holt, 1992)
• Fencing the Sky (Henry Holt, 1999)