Donna Hilbert
Encyclopedia
Donna Hilbert is an American poet who also writes short stories
, plays
, and essays. As a founding member of the Progressive Dinner Party in Long Beach, California
, she is also known for her commitment to social justice
, philanthropy
and community arts programs.
, a small town near the Texas
border south of Deep Red Creek and north of the Red River
. Her family was Methodist. At the age of seven, she moved with her parents to the San Fernando Valley
of Southern California
, first in Van Nuys, then Reseda
, and finally in Northridge
. At the age of eighteen, she married into an upper middle class
Catholic family. Hilbert and her husband raised three sons. In summer 1998 her husband was killed in a freak bicycle accident by a motorist driving home from a methadone
clinic. She has lived in Long Beach, CA since 1998.
, Sigmund Freud
, Graham Greene
, Omar Kayam, and Grace Metalious. She eventually completed an undergraduate degree, in political science
, from California State University, Long Beach
(in 1978), as well as a graduate degree, in psychotherapy
, from the California Family Study Center (in 1987).
In 1980, Hilbert began publishing poems in literary journals, and an editor at Event Horizon Press noticed her work, launching her debut collection, Mansions, in 1990. Her subsequent books include a fiction collection, Women Who Make Money and the Men Who Love Them (1994), which won the Staple First Editions prize in England, and five other books of poetry: Deep Red (1993), Feathers and Dust (1996), Transforming Matter (2000), Greatest Hits (2001), and Traveler in Paradise: New and Selected Poems (2004). Hilbert’s writing is not easily slotted into a single tradition; she experiments with free-verse lyricism, formalism
, and prose poetry
. In more recent work, one can find elements of sardonic allegory
, even surrealism
. World Parade Books will publish her latest collection, titled The Green Season, in 2009.
Long Beach poet and fiction writer Gerald Locklin authored Two Novellas in collaboration with Hilbert and has since shared the lectern with her many times at readings in the U.S. and United Kingdom. He describes Hilbert’s writing as “musical,” “imagistic,” and “much more poetic than most contemporary poetry without lapsing into the ‘pseudo-poetic’ or trite.” He also stresses that the trajectory of Hilbert’s career outside the traditional academy has been an unquestionable asset to her development as a writer: “She probably has more in common with the unselfconscious women writers of earlier generations than the more professionally or commercially driven women of our MFA
generation.”
In the past three years, Hilbert has experimented in other genres, including nonfiction, playwriting, and the novel. For PEN USA, she continues to teach workshops for emerging writers.
Most recently, Hilbert's life and work since the tragic loss of her husband have become the subjects of an independent biopic, Grief Becomes Me: A Poet's Journey, produced and directed by award-winning filmmaker Christine Fugate. The first installment of the film premiered at the annual Kentucky Women Writers Conference in 2004.
Short Stories
Short Stories may refer to:*A plural for Short story*Short Stories , an American pulp magazine published from 1890-1959*Short Stories, a 1954 collection by O. E...
, plays
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
, and essays. As a founding member of the Progressive Dinner Party in Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, she is also known for her commitment to social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
, philanthropy
Philanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
and community arts programs.
Life
Hilbert was born in 1946 in Grandfield, OklahomaGrandfield, Oklahoma
Grandfield is a city in Tillman County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,038 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Grandfield is located at ....
, a small town near the Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
border south of Deep Red Creek and north of the Red River
Red River (Mississippi watershed)
The Red River, or sometimes the Red River of the South, is a major tributary of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers in the southern United States of America. The river gains its name from the red-bed country of its watershed. It is one of several rivers with that name...
. Her family was Methodist. At the age of seven, she moved with her parents to the San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
of Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
, first in Van Nuys, then Reseda
Reseda, Los Angeles, California
Reseda is a San Fernando Valley district in the city of Los Angeles, California.-History:The area now known as Reseda was originally inhabited by Native Americans of the Tongva tribe that lived close to the Los Angeles River....
, and finally in Northridge
Northridge, Los Angeles, California
Northridge is a community located in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California, United States.The 1994 Northridge earthquake is named for the place based on early estimates of the location of the quake's epicenter; however, further refinements showed it to be technically...
. At the age of eighteen, she married into an upper middle class
Upper middle class
The upper middle class is a sociological concept referring to the social group constituted by higher-status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term "lower middle class", which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle class stratum, and to the broader term "middle...
Catholic family. Hilbert and her husband raised three sons. In summer 1998 her husband was killed in a freak bicycle accident by a motorist driving home from a methadone
Methadone
Methadone is a synthetic opioid, used medically as an analgesic and a maintenance anti-addictive for use in patients with opioid dependency. It was developed in Germany in 1937...
clinic. She has lived in Long Beach, CA since 1998.
Career
Hilbert did not begin writing until after her father's death, when she was 34 years old. By that time, she had thoroughly committed herself to the domestic heavy-lifting of many women in her generation, putting obligations as wife and mother before her own education or career. But Hilbert had long fostered an emerging ambition on her own by studying such diverse writers as Albert CamusAlbert Camus
Albert Camus was a French author, journalist, and key philosopher of the 20th century. In 1949, Camus founded the Group for International Liaisons within the Revolutionary Union Movement, which was opposed to some tendencies of the Surrealist movement of André Breton.Camus was awarded the 1957...
, Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
, Graham Greene
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene, OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world...
, Omar Kayam, and Grace Metalious. She eventually completed an undergraduate degree, in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
, from California State University, Long Beach
California State University, Long Beach
California State University, Long Beach is the second largest campus of the California State University system and the third largest university in the state of California by enrollment...
(in 1978), as well as a graduate degree, in psychotherapy
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a general term referring to any form of therapeutic interaction or treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client or patient; family, couple or group...
, from the California Family Study Center (in 1987).
In 1980, Hilbert began publishing poems in literary journals, and an editor at Event Horizon Press noticed her work, launching her debut collection, Mansions, in 1990. Her subsequent books include a fiction collection, Women Who Make Money and the Men Who Love Them (1994), which won the Staple First Editions prize in England, and five other books of poetry: Deep Red (1993), Feathers and Dust (1996), Transforming Matter (2000), Greatest Hits (2001), and Traveler in Paradise: New and Selected Poems (2004). Hilbert’s writing is not easily slotted into a single tradition; she experiments with free-verse lyricism, formalism
Formalism (literature)
Formalism is a school of literary criticism and literary theory having mainly to do with structural purposes of a particular text.In literary theory, formalism refers to critical approaches that analyze, interpret, or evaluate the inherent features of a text. These features include not only grammar...
, and prose poetry
Prose poetry
Prose poetry is poetry written in prose instead of using verse but preserving poetic qualities such as heightened imagery and emotional effects.-Characteristics:Prose poetry can be considered either primarily poetry or prose, or a separate genre altogether...
. In more recent work, one can find elements of sardonic allegory
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
, even surrealism
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
. World Parade Books will publish her latest collection, titled The Green Season, in 2009.
Long Beach poet and fiction writer Gerald Locklin authored Two Novellas in collaboration with Hilbert and has since shared the lectern with her many times at readings in the U.S. and United Kingdom. He describes Hilbert’s writing as “musical,” “imagistic,” and “much more poetic than most contemporary poetry without lapsing into the ‘pseudo-poetic’ or trite.” He also stresses that the trajectory of Hilbert’s career outside the traditional academy has been an unquestionable asset to her development as a writer: “She probably has more in common with the unselfconscious women writers of earlier generations than the more professionally or commercially driven women of our MFA
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
generation.”
In the past three years, Hilbert has experimented in other genres, including nonfiction, playwriting, and the novel. For PEN USA, she continues to teach workshops for emerging writers.
Most recently, Hilbert's life and work since the tragic loss of her husband have become the subjects of an independent biopic, Grief Becomes Me: A Poet's Journey, produced and directed by award-winning filmmaker Christine Fugate. The first installment of the film premiered at the annual Kentucky Women Writers Conference in 2004.