Jason Shinder

Jason Shinder (1955–2008) was an American poet who authored three books and founded the YMCA National Writer's Voice.[1] His last book, Stupid Hope (Graywolf Press, 2009), was released posthumously.

He was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1955 and graduated from Skidmore College in 1978.[2] He published his first literary work in 1993, with the release of Every Room We Ever Slept In, which became a New York Public Library Notable Book.[3] He went on to author Among Women and Uncertain Hours. He also edited numerous anthologies, including The Poem That Changed America: "Howl" Fifty Years Later (2006) and The Poem I Turn To: Actors and Directors Present Poetry That Inspires Them (2008).[3] In addition to founding and directing the National Writer's Voice, Shinder also served as director of the Sundance Institute Writing Program, as a teacher in the graduate writing program at Bennington College, and as a graduate teacher at New School University. He was also a Poet Laureate of Provincetown.[2][3] Shinder earned a Literature Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2007.[3][4]

Shinder died in April 2008. He had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and leukemia. "Cancer is a tremendous opportunity," he said, philosophically, "to have your face pressed right up against the glass of your mortality." In his brief poem "Company," he writes:

I've been avoiding my illness

because I'm afraid

I will die and when I do,

I'll end up alone again.[5]

Published works

Full-length Poetry Collections

  • Stupid Hope (Graywolf Press, 2009)
  • Among Women (Graywolf Press, 2001)
  • Every Room We Ever Slept In (Sheep Meadow Press, 1993)

Chapbooks

  • Uncertain Hours (Arrowsmith Press, 2006)

References

  1. ^ Foundation, Poetry (2024-04-20). "Jason Shinder". Poetry Foundation. Retrieved 2024-04-20.
  2. ^ a b Fox, Margalit (2008-05-03). "Jason Shinder, 52, Poet and Founder of Arts Program, Dies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-04-20.
  3. ^ a b c d Poets, Academy of American. "Jason Shinder". Poets.org. Retrieved 2024-04-20.
  4. ^ "Literature Fellowships". www.arts.gov. Retrieved 2024-04-20.
  5. ^ Shinder, Jason (2001-01-12). "Jason Shinder". Jason Shinder. Retrieved 2018-03-21.


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