Jason Shinder (1955–2008) was an American poet who authored three books and founded theYMCA National Writer's Voice.[1] His last book,Stupid Hope (Graywolf Press, 2009), was released posthumously.
He was born inBrooklyn, New York, in 1955 and graduated fromSkidmore College in 1978.[2] He published his first literary work in 1993, with the release ofEvery Room We Ever Slept In, which became a New York Public Library Notable Book.[3] He went on to authorAmong Women andUncertain Hours. He also edited numerous anthologies, includingThe Poem That Changed America: "Howl" Fifty Years Later (2006) andThe Poem I Turn To: Actors and Directors Present Poetry That Inspires Them (2008).[3] In addition to founding and directing the National Writer's Voice, Shinder also served as director of theSundance Institute Writing Program, as a teacher in the graduate writing program atBennington College, and as a graduate teacher atNew School University. He was also aPoet Laureate ofProvincetown.[2][3] Shinder earned a Literature Fellowship from theNational Endowment for the Arts in 2007.[3][4]
Shinder died in April 2008. He had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and leukemia. "Cancer is a tremendous opportunity," he said, philosophically, "to have your face pressed right up against the glass of your mortality." In his brief poem "Company," he writes:
I've been avoiding my illness
because I'm afraid
I will die and when I do,
I'll end up alone again.[5]
Full-length Poetry Collections
Chapbooks
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
 | This biographical article about an American poet born in the 1950s is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
