Alison Townsend
Encyclopedia
Life
She grew up in New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. She teaches at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
The University of Wisconsin–Whitewater is part of the University of Wisconsin System, located in Whitewater, Wisconsin. It became Wisconsin's second public college on April 21, 1868 when it opened its doors to 39 students taught by nine faculty members...
.
Her work has appeared in Calyx, Clackamas Literary Review, Fourth Genre, New Letters, The North American Review, and The Southern Review.
She is married and lives outside Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
.
Awards
- 2009 Pushcart Prize
- 2008 Crab Orchard AwardCrab Orchard Series in Poetry Open Competition AwardsThe Crab Orchard Series in Poetry Open Competition Awards are relatively large prizes given out each year to poets with unpublished manuscripts. In addition to the cash prizes, two winners get published by a university press....
- 2004 Diner poetry contest
Works
- "Jane Morris Poses For Rossetti’s Proserpine"; "Demeter Faces Facts", Mudlark Poster No. 79, 2009
- "Spin", Rattle, July 2008
Essays
Reviews
The dilemma with this book is that every time I start to read it, I find myself putting it down to write—my own memories surfacing, requiring the light of paper to see. C.K. Williams says of memory in his poem “Lessons” from The Singing, “How even know in truth how much / of mind should be memory, no less / what portion of self should be others / rather than self?” Are our own truths, our own selves defined by our memories?
Persephone in America (Southern Illinois University Press) is the latest book of poetry from Alison Townsend. It follows 2003’s The Blue Dress (White Pine) with more strong work that delves into the stressful state of womanhood and femininity in the United States today. It is beautiful poetry, but it is not a pleasant picture.