Joyce Sutphen

It's the birthday of poet Joyce Sutphen (books by this author), born near St. Joseph, Minnesota (1949). She grew up on a small farm. She was one of nine children, and everyone worked hard: hoeing potatoes, driving the tractor, or milking. Her parents weren't literary — she said that her mother did not "like sentimentality and gush, keeping things plain and concise" — but they encouraged their kids' studies. She said: "My parents always felt that anyone doing homework or practicing a musical instrument was granted dispensation from other things. So as you can imagine, we were all good students and loved playing music!"

She said: "In college, I loved Shakespeare, Milton, the Romantic poets (all of them), and Blake and Yeats — but I began to feel overwhelmed. I couldn't imagine being able to write the kind of poem I was reading." Instead, she went to graduate school at the University of Minnesota to study Renaissance Drama. In 1990, at the age of 40, she was a teaching assistant with a group of students on a program in London. Away from her husband and three children, she had time for herself and her own room, and she was suddenly inspired to write poetry. She said, "It was so amazing. I got a little more rest, and I became a different person. I just expanded, and the poetry was there, like an untapped thing I turned on."

Some of the very first poems she sent out for publication were published in Poetry and American Poetry Review. About three years after she began writing poetry, she entered the Barnard Women's Poets contest. To assemble a manuscript, she printed out all the poems she had written, spread them out around her on the floor, and grouped them together as best she could. Then she sent off the manuscript and forgot about it. Months later, she got a call informing her that she had won the Barnard Women's Poets Prize, and her first book of poems, Straight Out of View (1995), would be published by Beacon Press.

She published several more books of poetry, and in 2011 she was named poet laureate for the state of Minnesota. She was the second poet laureate in the state's history, following Robert Bly. She said: "Compared to Robert Bly, I have done nothing — in fact, there are many other poets in this state (and I could name a dozen right off the top of my head) who are much more accomplished and eloquent than I am. I am a surprising choice, but here's what I think: no one could adequately follow Robert, so I make a great contrast, and whoever follows me won't have to worry."

Her other books include The Green House (2017), Naming the Stars (2004)Coming Back to the Body (2000), and First Words (2010).

She said: "When there are funding cuts for art and music and poetry and drama and dance, people just go ahead and do these things anyway — because it's absolutely necessary. People who love these things know how vital they are. I mean, humanly. And they won't stop, no matter what."

And: "I haven't finished with writing about my family and the experience of growing up on a small farm. That's material that keeps looking different to me and I continue to try to get it down, to create something that conveys what's being lost."

Read our Poet Interview with Joyce >>>

 


46 comments

  • Am testifying of the miraculous work of a great herbalist doctor called Dr Moses Buba I have been suffering from herpes outbreak since last 2 years with my Husband but today I am happy that am cured from it with the herbal medicine made by Dr Moses Buba the great healer, I was browsing the Internet searching for help when I came across a testimony shared by someone on how Dr Moses Buba cured her from Herpes Disease. I quickly contacted him to get the cure and today I am now free from the Virus, Email him now for help. buba.herbalmiraclemedicine@gmail.com , you can also visit his Facebook website https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559577240930

    wilson
  • i already had two kids for my husband and he wanted to leave me because he was seeing another woman and i was on a facebook page and i saw a comment about dr ose how he helped a lady to save her marriage and i gave it a try i can proudly say am happy in my marriage now oseremenspelltemple@gmail.com WhatsApp +2348136482342

    karen barron
  • My heart is so filled with joy. If you are suffering from Erectile dysfunction or any other disease you can contact Dr. Moses Buba on this buba.herbalmiraclemedicine@gmail.com or His website : https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559577240930 . For more information from me reach me via WhatsApp : +44 7375 301397

    Athony Isak
  • DR. ODUNGA IS THE BEST SPELL CASTER ONLINE WHO RESTORED MY BROKEN RELATIONSHIP AND I HIGHLY RECOMMENDS DR. ODUNGA TO ANYONE IN NEED OF HELP! My husband left me for another woman 3 months ago and ever since then my life has been filled with pain, sorrow and heart break because he was my first love whom I have spent my entire life with. A friend of mine told me he saw some testimonies of a spell caster called Dr Odunga that he can bring back lover within some few days, i laugh it out and said i am not interested but because of the love my friend had for me, she consulted the great spell caster on my behalf and to my greatest surprise after 11hours my husband called me for the very first time after three months that he is missing me and that he is so sorry for every thing he made me went through. He came back to me and now we are happy together. I still can’t believe it, because it’s highly unbelievable. Thank you Dr.Odunga for bringing back my lover and also to my lovely friend who interceded on my behalf, for any one who might need the help of this great spell caster here is the email address:odungaspelltemple@gmail.com, you can also add him on Whats-app:+2348167159012 View his blog https://odungaspelltemple.blogspot.com/

    Cassandra Anderton
  • I thought I was being careful, but one click on a fake email and 12.7 BTC vanished from my wallet. It felt like my entire savings had just disappeared into thin air. I was devastated. I thought it was gone forever, until I found Morphohack. Their team didn’t promise miracles, but they acted fast. They traced the stolen Bitcoin through several wallets and found it sitting in an exchange. I couldn’t believe it when they told me they’d recovered it. Within weeks, most of my crypto was back in my hands. It was like getting a second chance. I’ve learned to take security seriously now, hardware wallets, two-factor authentication, everything. If something like this ever happens to you, don’t give up. Get professionals like Morphohack involve, like I did, and it changed everything. I’m grateful for the services of Morphohack. You can reach them via email (Morphohack@Cyberservices . com)
    William Hart

Leave a comment