Joshua Harmon (poet)
- For the playwright born 1983, see Joshua Harmon (playwright).
Joshua Harmon (born 1971) is an American poet, novelist, short story writer, and essayist. He has authored five books, including The Annotated Mixtape (nonfiction, 2014), History of Cold Seasons (short stories, 2014), Le Spleen de Poughkeepsie (poems, 2011), Scape (poems, 2009), and Quinnehtukqut (novel, 2007). His third collection of poetry, The Soft Path, will be published by the University of Akron Press.[1]
Life and work
Harmon was born and raised in Massachusetts. He was educated at Marlboro College[2][3] and at Cornell University, where he earned an MFA in fiction.[4]
Quinnehtukqut, excerpts of which were awarded a 2004 National Endowment for the Arts fellowship in prose,[5] was short-listed for the 2008 VCU Cabell First Novelist Award.[6] Of this novel, Open Letters Monthly wrote that "Quinnehtukqut is the most impressive debut I can remember,"[7] while The Village Voice wrote that "Harmon...concerns himself with formal innovation at the expense of a coherent narrative."[8]
Le Spleen de Poughkeepsie was awarded the 2010 Akron Poetry Prize by judge G.C. Waldrep and published in the Akron Series in Poetry.[9] The Rumpus called the book "Part love song, part ethnography, part cry for help."[10] Reviewing Le Spleen de Poughkeepsie in Rain Taxi, poet Donna Stonecipher wrote that "in both free-verse and prose poem forms, [Harmon] uses lyric’s heightened capacity for beauty to detail Poughkeepsie’s ugliness in defiantly beautiful formulations."[11]
The Annotated Mixtape was considered "an essay collection on the nature of obsession" by The Rumpus.[12] Kirkus Reviews described History of Cold Seasons as "a dozen stories that mash up poetic, dreamlike observations with the caustic, inbred hardiness of New Englanders,"[13] and the BBC called the book "a remarkably assured and poetic first collection."[14]
Harmon's writing has appeared in various periodicals, including Antioch Review, The Believer,[15] Black Warrior Review, Bomb (Magazine),[16] New England Review,[17] The Rumpus,[18] TriQuarterly, and Verse.
Harmon has taught at Bucknell University,[19] Clark University,[20] and Vassar College, where he was also the 2013 Writer-in-Residence.[21][22] Currently, Harmon is associate teaching professor in the Department of Humanities & Arts at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.[23]
Bibliography
- Quinnehtukqut (Starcherone Books, 2007)
- Scape (Black Ocean, 2009)
- Le Spleen de Poughkeepsie (University of Akron Press, 2011)
- History of Cold Seasons (Dzanc Books, 2014)
- The Annotated Mixtape (Dzanc Books, 2014)
Notes
- ^ [1] "University of Akron Press acquires four new poetry collections". Retrieved 2019-02-24.
- ^ [2] "Author: Joshua Harmon".
- ^ [3] "Literary Fest returns as flavorful, funny and serious celebration of the printed word".
- ^ [4] Cornell Writers
- ^ [5] NEA Writers' Corner website
- ^ [6] VCU Cabell First Novelist Award website
- ^ [7] "Voices in the Woods". Retrieved 2019-02-24.
- ^ [8] "The Wood Demons". Retrieved 2019-02-24.
- ^ [9] University of Akron Press website
- ^ [10] "Poor Little Poughkeepsie". 2011-04-06. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
- ^ [11] "Le Spleen de Poughkeepsie". Retrieved 2019-02-24.
- ^ [12] "The Annotated Mixtape by Joshua Harmon". 2015-03-12.
- ^ [13] "History of Cold Seasons".
- ^ [14] "Ten Books to Read in December".
- ^ [15] The Believer
- ^ [16] Bomb
- ^ [17] New England Review
- ^ "Joshua Harmon".
- ^ [18] "Notes on Contributors". The Iowa Review. 30 (2). 2000. JSTOR 20154850.
- ^ [19] "Faculty biography".
- ^ [20] Kim, Hae Seo. "New Writer in Residence Harmon Follows a Rich Legacy." The Miscellany News, February 20, 2013.
- ^ [21] "Catalogue Archive, English Department".
- ^ "jharmon". WPI. Retrieved 2018-03-02.
External links
- The Soft Path at University of Akron Press
- The Annotated Mixtape at Dzanc Books
- History of Cold Seasons at Dzanc Books
- "Rope," a short story, at Recommended Reading
- Le Spleen de Poughkeepsie at University of Akron Press
- Scape at Black Ocean
- Quinnehtukqut at Starcherone Books
- On Scape: An Interview with Joshua Harmon
- Book Notes: The Annotated Mixtape at Largehearted Boy