Russell Edson

1989 Winner in
Poetry

For decades, Russell Edson produced a body of work unique in perspective and singular in approach, constructed almost entirely upon a structure of prose poetry. Born in 1935 in Connecticut, he studied art early in life and began publishing poetry in the 1960s. His work includes The Rooster's Wife (2005) and See Jack (2009). Edson's other books include The Very Thing That Happens (1964), The Childhood of an Equestrian (1973), The Falling Sickness: A Book of Plays (1975), The Intuitive Journey & Other Works (1976), Tick Tock (1992), and a retrospective collection entitled The Tunnel: Selected Poems (1995). He received, among other awards, a Guggenheim fellowship and several fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. Russell passed away on April 29, 2014.

Reviews & Praise

“The profundity of Edson’s genius has perhaps never been as fully appreciated as it should, in spite of his fervent following. But Edson is one of the few poets one would trust to survive an encounter with death itself and find ever new terrain for poetry. See Jack is as much the capstone of a singular career as it is a point of departure for Edson’s ongoing practice of things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme.” —Kenyon Review

"The Tunnel is a magnificent book. The microscopic precision and intuitive leaps evident throughout the book confirm that Edson is not merely an offbeat original but a profound contemporary poet deserving of wider recognition." —Rain Taxi

“Edson is the godfather of the prose poem in America. His work sets a standard for prose poetry that few other practitioners can meet. They can elicit laughter, disgust, or both simultaneously, and they defy easy interpretation, for they lack overt symbolism. They are as disturbing but often, especially in this book, as dazzling as a good Dali or de Chirico painting.” —Booklist [on The Tormented Mirror]

Selected Works

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Outside Links
Poems (Poetry Foundation)
Poems (The Writer's Almanac)