Charles Jensen (poet)
Encyclopedia
Charles Jensen is an American poet
and editor
.
and received a Bachelor's degree in film studies
and cultural studies
& comparative literature
from the University of Minnesota
. In 2004, he received an MFA degree in creative writing
from Arizona State University
, where he served as a poetry editor for Hayden's Ferry Review
. He received the inaugural Red Mountain Review Chapbook Prize, selected by Joel Brouwer
, for his collection Little Burning Edens and the 2006 Frank O'Hara Chapbook Award for Living Things, an elegy
sequence. He was a published finalist for the 2007 DIAGRAM/New Michigan Press Chapbook Award for his mixed genre story The Strange Case of Maribel Dixon.His first full-length book of poems, The First Risk, was published by Lethe Press in 2009. It was a finalist for the 2010 Lambda Literary Award
. He received an artist's project grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts.
His writing has appeared in Bloom
, New England Review
, The Journal
, Colorado Review
, Court Green
, Columbia Poetry Review, Field
, Copper Nickel, Folio
, Hayden's Ferry Review
, Puerto del Sol, Quarterly West
, West Branch
, Willow Springs
, Yalobusha Review, and spork
. With the poet Sarah Vap, he published interviews with several poets, including C. D. Wright
, Lynn Emanuel
, and Frank Paino.
For several years, he worked at the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at Arizona State University, where he served as the director of their annual Desert Nights, Rising Stars Writers Conference. Following that, he moved to the Washington, DC metro area and served as the Director of The Writer's Center, one of the nation's largest independent literary centers, from 2008-2010.
In 2006, he founded LOCUSPOINT, an online literary journal dedicated to publishing creative work on a city-by-city basis, selected by a guest editor who lives in that city.
In 2009, he was elected to the board of directors of the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County, where he served for a term as secretary, and in 2010 he was elected by the membership of Americans for the Arts
to the Emerging Leader Council, where he served as chair of the governance committee. He has often served as a state or regional judge for the Arizona and Maryland Poetry Out Loud competitions and is involved with Maryland Citizens for the Arts' Emerging Arts Advocates group.
He now serves as the poetry editor for Lethe Press.
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and editor
Editor
The term editor may refer to:As a person who does editing:* Editor in chief, having final responsibility for a publication's operations and policies* Copy editing, making formatting changes and other improvements to text...
.
Life
He was born in Eagle, WisconsinEagle, Wisconsin
Eagle is a village in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,707 at the 2000 census. The village is located within the Town of Eagle.-Museums:...
and received a Bachelor's degree in film studies
Film studies
Film studies is an academic discipline that deals with various theoretical, historical, and critical approaches to films. It is sometimes subsumed within media studies and is often compared to television studies...
and cultural studies
Cultural studies
Cultural studies is an academic field grounded in critical theory and literary criticism. It generally concerns the political nature of contemporary culture, as well as its historical foundations, conflicts, and defining traits. It is, to this extent, largely distinguished from cultural...
& comparative literature
Comparative literature
Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the literature of two or more different linguistic, cultural or national groups...
from the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
. In 2004, he received an MFA degree in creative writing
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
from Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
, where he served as a poetry editor for Hayden's Ferry Review
Hayden's Ferry Review
Hayden's Ferry Review is a well-regarded internationally distributed American literary magazine, published semi-annually by Arizona State University. Founded in 1986, the Review is headquartered in the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at ASU...
. He received the inaugural Red Mountain Review Chapbook Prize, selected by Joel Brouwer
Joel Brouwer
Joel Brouwer is an American poet, professor and critic. His most recent poetry collection is And So .He is also the author of Exactly What Happened, which received the Larry Levis Prize from Virginia Commonwealth University, and Centuries, a National Book Critics Circle "Notable Book."In addition...
, for his collection Little Burning Edens and the 2006 Frank O'Hara Chapbook Award for Living Things, an elegy
Elegy
In literature, an elegy is a mournful, melancholic or plaintive poem, especially a funeral song or a lament for the dead.-History:The Greek term elegeia originally referred to any verse written in elegiac couplets and covering a wide range of subject matter, including epitaphs for tombs...
sequence. He was a published finalist for the 2007 DIAGRAM/New Michigan Press Chapbook Award for his mixed genre story The Strange Case of Maribel Dixon.His first full-length book of poems, The First Risk, was published by Lethe Press in 2009. It was a finalist for the 2010 Lambda Literary Award
Lambda Literary Award
Lambda Literary Awards are awarded yearly by the US-based Lambda Literary Foundation to published works which celebrate or explore LGBT themes. Categories include Humor, Romance and Biography. To qualify, a book must have been published in the United States in the year current to the award...
. He received an artist's project grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts.
His writing has appeared in Bloom
Bloom
Bloom or blooming may refer to:-Science and nature:* Bloom, one or more flowers on a flowering plant* Algal bloom, a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in an aquatic system...
, New England Review
New England Review
The New England Review is a quarterly literary magazine published by Middlebury College. Founded in New Hampshire in 1978 by poet, novelist, editor and professor Sydney Lea and poet Jay Parini, it was published as New England Review & Bread Loaf Quarterly from 1982 , until 1991 as a formal...
, The Journal
The Journal
The Journal was a popular current affairs newsmagazine on CBC Television from 1982 to 1992. It aired weeknights at 10:22 pm, following The National at 10:00 pm, and expanding on stories presented on there with in-depth interviews, documentaries, and televised "town hall" meetings...
, Colorado Review
Colorado Review
Colorado Review is a major American literary journal published by the Center for Literary Publishing at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado.The journal presents the annual Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction...
, Court Green
Court Green
Court Green in North Tawton, Devon, England, was the home the poets Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath moved to in 1961. Plath left the house in December 1962, while Hughes lived there on and off for the rest of his life.- Sylvia Plath at Court Green :...
, Columbia Poetry Review, Field
FIELD (magazine)
FIELD magazine is a twice-yearly literary magazine published by Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, and focusing on contemporary poetry and poetics....
, Copper Nickel, Folio
Folio
Folio may refer to:* Folio , a book size* A particular edition of a book printed on folio pages, such as the First Folio of William Shakespeare's plays* A leaf of a book: see Recto and verso* Folio , a sans-serif typeface...
, Hayden's Ferry Review
Hayden's Ferry Review
Hayden's Ferry Review is a well-regarded internationally distributed American literary magazine, published semi-annually by Arizona State University. Founded in 1986, the Review is headquartered in the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at ASU...
, Puerto del Sol, Quarterly West
Quarterly West
Quarterly West is a prominent American literary magazine based at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Stories that have appeared in Quarterly West have been shortlisted for the Pushcart Prize, The Best American Short Stories and the O...
, West Branch
West Branch (journal)
West Branch is an American literary magazine based at Bucknell University and published by the Stadler Center for Poetry. It was established in 1977 and publishes poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and literary criticism. The editor-in-chief is G.C. Waldrep, a former editor of the Kenyon Review...
, Willow Springs
Willow Springs
Willow Springs may refer to:* Willow Springs, California ** Willow Springs International Motorsports Park* Willow Springs, Illinois, United States* Willow Springs, a historic name for the location of Beloit, Kansas, United States...
, Yalobusha Review, and spork
Spork
A spork or a foon is a hybrid form of cutlery taking the form of a spoon-like shallow scoop with three or four fork tines. Spork-like utensils, such as the terrapin fork or ice cream fork, have been manufactured since the late 19th century; patents for spork-like designs date back to at least 1874,...
. With the poet Sarah Vap, he published interviews with several poets, including C. D. Wright
C. D. Wright
Carolyn D. "C. D." Wright is an American poet.-Biography:Wright was born in Mountain Home, Arkansas to a chancery judge and a court reporter. She earned a BA from Memphis State College in 1971 and briefly attended law school before leaving to pursue an MFA from the University of Arkansas, which...
, Lynn Emanuel
Lynn Emanuel
Lynn Collins Emanuel is an American poet. Some of her poetry collections include Then, Suddenly— and Noose and Hook ....
, and Frank Paino.
For several years, he worked at the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at Arizona State University, where he served as the director of their annual Desert Nights, Rising Stars Writers Conference. Following that, he moved to the Washington, DC metro area and served as the Director of The Writer's Center, one of the nation's largest independent literary centers, from 2008-2010.
In 2006, he founded LOCUSPOINT, an online literary journal dedicated to publishing creative work on a city-by-city basis, selected by a guest editor who lives in that city.
In 2009, he was elected to the board of directors of the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County, where he served for a term as secretary, and in 2010 he was elected by the membership of Americans for the Arts
Americans for the Arts
Americans for the Arts is a nonprofit organization whose primary focus is advancing the arts in the United States. With offices in Washington, D.C. and New York City, it has a record of more than 50 years of service...
to the Emerging Leader Council, where he served as chair of the governance committee. He has often served as a state or regional judge for the Arizona and Maryland Poetry Out Loud competitions and is involved with Maryland Citizens for the Arts' Emerging Arts Advocates group.
He now serves as the poetry editor for Lethe Press.
Works
- "Joseph Smith's Prayer for the God Made Flesh," Whale Sound
- Selections from The Strange Case of Maribel Dixon published by spork
- Selections from NANOPEDIA: The Smallest American Reference published by The Collagist
- "Shopping," Blood Orange Review
- "Bargaining," Best of the Net 2007 (originally published in No Tell Motel)
- "Flowers," No Tell Motel
Video
- Reading of "I Am the Boy Who Is Tied Down" at the 2010 Decatur Book Festival
- Reading of "It Was October" at the 2010 Baltimore Book Festival