Creative Research

• During 2020, I continued to research and write a book-length and multi-media poem about the transcontinental railroad, entitled "West: A Translation," which I am hoping to send to my publisher, Copper Canyon, before I get vaccinated (which is to say, this summer). My website Mapping Literary Utah (www.mappingliteraryutah.org) launched April 2020. I also began work on new chapters from a book of critical essays on I'm writing on poetry and war, entitled "The Shield of Achilles: On Poetry, Representation, and War." I published my guest-edited volume, "Best American Poetry 2020," in September 2020. My book of poetry "Nightingale" won the 2020 Washington State Book Award for Poetry. Finally I wrote a successful book pitch for a poetry pedagogy book titled, Real Toads, Imaginary Gardens: How to Read a Poem, which was bought by W.W. Norton and should be forthcoming in late 2023. Literary Arts, in progress 01/2020.
• During 2019, I wrote a book-length and multi-media poem about the transcontinental railroad, entitled "West: A Translation," as well as a critical book on cultural appropriation, entitled "Appropriate: A Provocation," which is forthcoming from W.W. Norton. With the composer Tony Solitro, I wrote a short opera libretto, "The Burial," for the Utah Opera/Utah Symphony's celebration of the 150th anniversary of the transcontinental's completion. I also published four long chapters from a book of critical essays on I'm writing on poetry and war, entitled "The Shield of Achilles: On Poetry, Representation, and War." Finally, I served as a guest editor for "Best American Poetry 2020," and also received an Academy of American Poets Poet Laureate Fellowship ($100,000). Literary Arts, completed 12/2019.
• I'm currently working on three projects: a book-length poem about the transcontinental railroad entitled "West: A Translation" which has been commissioned by the state's Spike 150 committee, and will be performed in May 2019 at both SLAC and the National Postal Museum for the Smithsonian Institute. I am also giving a WIP reading from "West" at the UMFA on March 6, 2019. My second project is finalizing the mini-opera libretto I wrote for composer Tony Solitro, entitled "Burial," which will be performed by the Utah Opera in May 2019. My third project is completing a book-length essay on cultural appropriation and creative writing, entitled "Appropriate: A Provocation." I continue to write and publish scholarly essays on poetry and war. Literary Arts, in progress 12/2018.
• Currently I'm working on a series of craft-based essays on the poetic representations (or investigations) of war. Literary Arts, in progress 01/2017.
• Currently, I have been working on many new poems that will hopefully begin to shape themselves into something like a coherent collection. One of these poems is a crown of sonnets dedicated to Mae West in which her famous one-liners become anagrams that are the basis for every word selected in the poems, shaping each sonnet’s movement through the playful inversion of her own humor. As of this writing, 12 sonnets have currently been accepted for publication and are forthcoming in 2012. Literary Arts, in progress 01/2011.

Presentations

• Georgia Poetry Circuit: Featured Poet. For one week, I visited five colleges located across the southern counties of Georgia. Other, Presented, 11/08/2021.
• Reading at the University of Florida. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 11/05/2021.
• Reading at St. Mary's College. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 10/14/2021.
• Reading at Mills College. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 10/08/2021.
• Reading and craft talk at the University of Michigan. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 10/01/2021.
• Bread Loaf Writers Conference, Poetry Faculty. Other, Presented, 08/14/2021.
• Reading and Craft talk at Farleigh Dickinson University Low-Residency MFA. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 08/02/2021.
• Port Townsend Writers Conference: Poetry Faculty. Other, Presented, 07/15/2021.
• Wonder in Wyoming Literary Conference: Poetry Faculty. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 07/09/2021.
• Royal Society of Literature: Poetry Critics of Color (virtual event) . Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 06/30/2021.
• Reading for Central Washington University . Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 05/25/2021.
• Looking Glass Rock Writing Festival: Poetry Faculty. Other, Presented, 05/23/2021.
• "(Re)Writing History," APAHM Event CityLit Project Panel with Lisa Ko and Anjeli Enjeti . Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 05/18/2021.
• “Cultural Appropriation or Approximation?” Lecture for 92nd Street Y, May 2021. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 05/2021.
• Cultural Appropriation in the Arts Panel with Sarita Gaytan, Jorge Rojas and Lynn Kilpatrick Honors College University of Utah . Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 04/22/2021.
• Reading and graduate workshop for University of Alabama. Other, Presented, 04/16/2021.
• Race, Appropriation, Craft and the Writing Workshop Conversation with Matthew Salesses for City of Asylum . Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 02/22/2021.
• Reading at University of Arizona. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 02/18/2021.
• Reading at CUNY Hunter College, NYC. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 12/10/2019.
• Reading for Good Thunder Reading Series, University of Minnesota-Mankato. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 11/13/2019.
• Portland Book Festival Invited Speaker. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 11/09/2019.
• Week-long visiting writer at Ethel Walker School, Connecticut. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 10/23/2019.
• Poetry workshop with students from Parkside Elementary, SLC. Presentation, Presented, 10/22/2019.
• Reading for Amherst Poetry Festival, Emily Dickinson House. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 09/20/2019.
• Poetry faculty for Port Townsend Writers' Conference, Port Townsend, WA: A week-long national writing conference. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 07/2019.
• K-12 Teacher training in poetry pedagogy, Wasatch Range Writing Project, Weber Innovations Center. Presentation, Presented, 06/24/2019.
• Poetry Faculty for Sarah Lawrence College Summer Seminar, Week-long conference. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 06/2019.
• Performance of "The Burial," short opera commissioned by Utah Opera/Utah Symphony, Gallivants Center. Presentation, Presented, 05/22/2019.
• River walk lecture and poetry workshop, Natural History Museum "Field Work Project," Day-Riverside Public Library. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 05/16/2019.
• Performance of "West: A Poem of the Transcontinental Railroad," Smithsonian Institute: APAC and National History Museum. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 05/10/2019.
• Performance of "West: A Poem of the Transcontinental Railroad," Salt Lake Acting Company. Presentation, Presented, 05/06/2019.
• Key organizer for Utah Poetry Festival at Westminster College, SLC: Day-long poetry festival with K-12 teacher training workshops in poetry/creative writing pedagogy, and readings by poets from around the state. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 04/27/2019.
• Reading at Utah Valley University . Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 04/08/2019.
• Taught poetry and poetry workshops for grades 9-12 at Herriman High School, UT. Presentation, Presented, 04/05/2019.
• Reading at Moab Grand County Library. Presentation, Presented, 12/11/2018.
• Reading at City Arts for Field Work program in collaboration with the Natural History Museum. Presentation, Presented, 12/05/2018.
• Conference paper delivered for panel, "Essay as Artifact," for NonfictionNOW Conference. Conference Paper, Presented, 11/03/2018.
• Conference paper for "Speculative Nonfiction and Research" for NonfictionNOW Conference. Conference Paper, Presented, 11/02/2018.
• Public reading at Weber State University. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 10/22/2018.
• Public reading and discussion with Leslie Anderson from UMFA for "Are Moriendi: The Art of Death," Bountiful Davis Arts Center. Presentation, Presented, 10/22/2018.
• Poetry reading in collaboration with Natural History Museum curators for Field Work program. Presentation, Presented, 09/19/2018.
• Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, invited faculty (nonfiction). Taught, lectured, and gave a public reading at the 15-day Bread Loaf Writers' Conference. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 08/15/2018.
• Invited speaker to Chautaqua Institute for The Broken Country. The Broken Country was also a Chautaqua Book Club pick for 2018. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 08/14/2018.
• Speaker and reader for the traveling exhibit "Speaking Volumes: Transforming Hate" at Union Station Museum, Ogden. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 08/08/2018.
• Rainier Writing Workshops, Invited Speaker/Faculty. I gave a public reading, and then a short workshop on hybrid nonfiction. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 08/02/2018.
• Invited faculty in nonfiction for the Northwoods Writing Conference, Bemidji, MN from June 18-24, 2018. Gave public reading, lecture, and taught workshops. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 06/18/2018.
• Invited faculty in poetry for Writers at Work Conference, Alta, Utah, June 16-20, 2018. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 06/06/2018.
• Reading at Utah State University. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 04/18/2018.
• Public reading for Folger Shakespeare Library program, "On Paul Klee.". Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 03/22/2018.
• Public reading and lecture as visiting writer to University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 02/22/2018.
• Reading for the "Read Local" program for 15 Bytes Magazine, Finch Lane Gallery, Salt Lake City. Presentation, Presented, 01/25/2018.
• Reading at Elliott Bay Book, Seattle. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 11/16/2017.
• Reading and lecture at University of San Francisco. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 11/07/2017.
• Reading and lecture at the School of the Art Institute at Chicago and for The Poetry Foundation. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 10/30/2017.
• Reading and lecture at High Point University. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 10/24/2017.
• Reading and teaching at Hope College. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 10/16/2017.
• Reading and panel discussion on intergenerational trauma, the Asian American Writers Workshop. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 10/14/2017.
• Reading/discussion about Vietnam War for KUED: Legacies of Vietnam. Presentation, Presented, 10/10/2017.
• Reading at Hiram College. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 10/03/2017.
• "Pulitzers in Person: Honoring Theodore Roethke and Carolyn Kizer": Public roundtable talk/lecture with poets Erin Belieu and Ed Skoog, Humanities Washington with Copper Canyon Press. Livestream event. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 11/03/2016.
• Poetry reading, 12 MM: Artists and Writers, Downtown Public Library, Salt Lake City. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 10/16/2016.
• Poetry reading, Southern California Poetry Festival, September 9-10th, 2016. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 09/10/2016.
• Poetry Faculty, Jackson Hole Writers Conference, June 23-25, 2016. Presentation, Presented, 06/25/2016.
• ArtLandish: Land Art Writers Salt Lake City Public Library, 7 PM Panel with Drs. Charles Waugh and Jeffrey McCarthy on eco-literature in the 19th, 20th and 21st Centuries. Other, Presented, 06/17/2016.
• Poetry reading, UCLA. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 02/18/2016.
• Poetry Reading, Cork International Poetry Festival, February 10-13th, 2016. Cork, IRELAND. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 02/13/2016.
• Poetry Reading, Harvard University . Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 07/2015.
• Poetry reading at the University of Michigan. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 02/2014.
• Port Townsend Writers' Conference: Invited Faculty. Invited Talk/Keynote, Accepted, 07/2011.
• Cleveland State University Writing Conference, Invited Poetry Faculty . Invited Talk/Keynote, Accepted, 06/2011.
• AWP Conference 2011, "Unseen Mentors: Teaching Forgotten Poets" and "Writing Outside the Margins: Contemporary Writers on Nature Writing.". Conference Paper, Presented, 02/2011.
• University of San Diego: Poetry Reading and Lecture. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 11/2010.
• Ithaca College: Nonfiction reading and presentation. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 10/2010.
• Oregon State Poetry Society: Poetry Reading and Lecture. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 10/2010.

Publications

• Paisley Rekdal (2022). "Bury," "Homeward-Gazing". The Kenyon Review. Published, 04/2022.
• Paisley Rekdal (2022). "White Noise, White Elegies: On Poems by Frank O'Hara, John Berryman and Michael Dickman". American Poetry Review. Published, 01/2022.
• Paisley Rekdal (2021). "What Day". Poem-A-Day, Academy of American Poets. Published, 12/2021.
• Paisley Rekdal (2021). "Soil," "Earth, "Know". The Kenyon Review. Published, 11/2021.
• Paisley Rekdal (2021). West: A Translation. Copper Canyon Press. Accepted, 06/30/2021.
• Paisley Rekdal (2021). "Iphigenia in Afghanistan: Notes on Women's War Poetry". The Sewanee Review. Published, 04/2021.
• Paisley Rekdal (2021). "On Racial Fakes". American Poetry Review. Published, 04/2021.
• Paisley Rekdal (2021). Real Toads, Imaginary Gardens: How to Read a Poem. W.W. Norton. Accepted, 02/2021.
• Rekdal, Paisley (2021). Appropriate: A Provocation. W.W. Norton. Published, 02/2021.
• Paisley Rekdal (2021). "For Writers Graduating During a Pandemic". [Website/Blog]. Published, 02/2021.
• Paisley Rekdal (2020). "On Racial Fakes". American Poetry Review. Accepted, 12/2020.
• Paisley Rekdal (2020). "Wild Horses". American Poets Magazine. Published, 10/2020.
• Paisley Rekdal (2020). “On ‘Wild Horses’ and the Poetry of History". American Poets Magazine. Published, 10/2020.
• Paisley Rekdal & David Lehman (2020). Best American Poetry 2020. Scribner. Published, 09/2020.
• Paisley Rekdal (2020). "Have Knowledge". Academy of American Poets Poem-A-Day. Published, 05/2020.
• Paisley Rekdal (2020). "I'm also Asian American. And 'Chinese Virus' is racist". Salt Lake Tribune. Published, 04/05/2020.
• Rekdal, Paisley & David Lehman, Major Jackson (2019). "Four Marys". Best American Poetry Series 2019. Accepted, 12/2019.
• Paisley Rekdal & Shelly Oria (2019). “Nightingale: A Gloss". Vol. Indelible in the Hippocampus:. McSweeney's. Published, 11/2019.
• Paisley Rekdal (2019). "The Wolves". LitHub. Published, 07/2019.
• Paisley Rekdal (2019). "Driving to Santa Fe". Poetry Daily. Published, 05/10/2019.
• Paisley Rekdal & Tony Solitro, composer (2019). "The Burial: A Libretto". Utah Opera and Symphony. Published, 05/2019.
• Paisley Rekdal (2019). "Seven Poems from West: A Translation". Asian American Writers Workshop: The Margins. Published, 05/2019.
• Paisley Rekdal (2019). "Pear". The Millions. Published, 05/2019.
• Paisley Rekdal (2019). "Just Wars, Punishable Bodies". Copper Nickel. Published, 04/2019.
• Paisley Rekdal (2019). "Strange Meeting: The Problems of Poetry, Representation, and War". AWP Chronicle. Published, 04/2019.
• Paisley Rekdal (2019). "Cathedral: Some Marginalia on Reading". Zyzzyva. Published, 04/2019.
• Paisley Rekdal (2019). Nightingale. Copper Canyon Press. Published, 04/2019.
• Paisley Rekdal (2019). "Five Reasons for a Writer to Live in Salt Lake". LitHub. Published, 03/2019.
• Paisley Rekdal & Shelly Oria (2019). "Nightingale: A Gloss". Indelible in the Hippocampus: Writings from the #MeToo Movement. Published, 01/2019.
• Rekdal, Paisley (2018). "Gokstadt/Ganymede". Michigan Quarterly Review. Published, 12/2018.
• Rekdal, Paisley (2018). "The Erotic Wounds of War". New England Review. Published, 12/2018.
• Rekdal, Paisley (2018). "24 Hours in America: Salt Lake City". The New York Times. Published, 10/15/2018.
• Rekdal, Paisley & David Lehman, Dana Gioia (2018). "Philomela". Best American Poetry Series 2018. Published, 09/2018.
• Rekdal, Paisley (2018). "Wounded Elders: On Racial Identity and Reviewing". The Margins. Published, 07/05/2018.
• Rekdal, Paisley (2018). "Quiver," "Telling the Wasps," "The Olive Trees at Vouve". Narrative Magazine. Published, 06/2018.
• Rekdal, Paisley (2018). "Four Marys". AGNI. Published, 05/2018.
• Rekdal, Paisley (2017). Critical Assembly: Poems from the Manhattan Project. Journal of Military History. Accepted, 11/2017.
• Rekdal, Paisley & Eds. Nessa O'Mahony and Paul Munden (2017). "Marsyas," "Torches,". Metamorphic: 21st Century Poets Respond to Ovid. Canberra: Recent Works Press. Published, 10/2017.
• Rekdal, Paisley (2017). "Marsyas" and "Pasiphae". Tin House. Published, 09/2017.
• Rekdal, Paisley (2017). "Psyche". Fairy Tale Review. Published, 09/2017.
• Rekdal, Paisley (2017). "Nightingale: A Gloss". American Poetry Review. Published, 09/2017.
• Rekdal, Paisley. The Broken Country: On Trauma, A Crime and the Continuing Legacy of the Vietnam War. Nonfiction book awarded the 2017 AWP Nonfiction Prize. Published September, 2017 with the University of Georgia Press. Published, 09/2017.
• Rekdal, Paisley (2017). "Beware of Sensational Rape Stories from Conservative Media". Truth Dig. Published, 08/14/2017.
• Rekdal, Paisley (2017). "Horn of Plenty" and "Leash". The New England Review. Published, 08/2017.
• Rekdal, Paisley (2017). "Pear," "Pythagorean," "The Gather". Willow Springs. Published, 07/2017.
• Rekdal, Paisley (2017). "Atlas Moth". Clockhouse Review. Published, 07/2017.
• Rekdal, Paisley. "Driving Down from Santa Fe," forthcoming in Poetry. Published, 07/2017.
• Rekdal, Paisley (2017). "Moab's Renewable Energy is an Act Worth Following". Salt Lake Tribune. Published, 02/24/2017.
• Rekdal, Paisley. "Io," "Philomela," "Tiresias," Narrative Magazine, Winter 2017. Published, 01/10/2017.
• Imaginary Vessels, Port Townsend: Copper Canyon Press. A book of poems. Published, 11/08/2016.
• Rekdal, Paisley. "American Service," Harriet: the Poetry Foundation Website, November, 2016. Published, 11/06/2016.
• Rekdal, Paisley.”Psalm," Academy of American Poets: Poem-a-Day Project, November 2016. Published, 11/01/2016.
• Rekdal, Paisley. "Irises." Poetry Daily. October 17, 2016. Published, 10/17/2016.
• Rekdal, Paisley. “Monticello Vase.” The Mind of Monticello: 50 Contemporary Poets on Jefferson, ed. Lisa Russ Spaar. Charlottesburg: University of Virginia Press, 2016. Published, 09/10/2016.
• Rekdal, Paisley. “Daphne,” “A Creation Story,” Bennington Review, Fall 2016. Published, 09/01/2016.
• Rekdal, Paisley. “Knitted Thylacine,” Prism International, Fall 2016. Published, 09/01/2016.
• Rekal, Paisley. “On Mentors.” A Manner of Being: Writers on Their Mentors, ed. Eric Parker. University of Massachussetts Press, 2016. Published, 08/10/2016.
• Rekdal, Paisley. "Swallows." The Echoing Green: Poems of Fields, Meadows, and Grasses, ed. Cecily Parks. New York: Penguin/Random House, 2016. Published, 03/01/2016.
• Rekdal, Paisley. "The Broken Country: An Excerpt," in Asian American Literary Review, February 23, 2016. Published, 02/23/2016.
• Rekdal, Paisley. "The Wolves." Poetry, February 2016. Published, 02/01/2016.
• Rekdal, Paisley. "The Cry." Academy of American Poets: Poem-a-Day Project, January 2016. Published, 01/10/2016.
• REkdal, Paisley. "Paleo." North Dakota Review, Fall 2015. Published, 09/01/2015.
• Rekdal, Paisley. “At the Fishhouses.” Poetry, January 2015. Published, 01/2015.
• Rekdal, Paisley. “Vessels” reprinted on Poetry Daily, October 2013. Published, 10/2013.
• “Washing the Elephant” and “One Theory of Ambition,” Triquarterly. Published, 09/01/2013.
• Rekdal, Paisley. Animal Eye. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2012. A collection of poems. Winner of the 2013 UNT Rilke Award, finalist for the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Prize and the 2012 Balcones Poetry Prize. Published, 02/08/2012.
• Rekdal, Paisley, “Happiness,” Poetry Daily, February 9, 2011 and Best New Poems Online, February 11, 2011. Published, 02/09/2011.
• Rekdal, Paisley. Animal Eye: Poems. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, Spring 2012. Published, 01/07/2011.
• Rekdal, Paisley. “Happiness,” The Kenyon Review, Winter 2010. Published, 12/2010.
• Rekdal, Paisley. “Voyeurs,” and “Flowers From a New Love After the Divorce,” Ecotone, Fall 2010. Published, 12/2010.
• Rekdal, Paisley, “The Orchard” and “The History of Paisley,” diode, Fall 2011. Published, 11/2010.
• Rekdal, Paisley, “After Frank,” The Huffington Post, September 16, 2010. This poem was for the series "7 Rings: An Artists' Game of Telephone," edited by Rebecca Campbell and Nicole Walker. Published, 09/16/2010.
• Rekdal, Paisley, “Whoso List to Hunt,” New Poets of the American West, ed. Lowell Jaeger, Many Voices Press, August 1, 2010. Published, 08/01/2010.
• Rekdal, Paisley, “Laura Gilpin’s ‘A Young Navajo Shepherd’” and “Imogen Cunningham’s ‘My Father at 60,’” Blackbird, Spring 2010. Published, 06/2010.
• Rekdal, Paisley, “Why Some Girls Love Horses,” Pushcart Prize XXXIV, Pushcart Press, 2010. Published, 01/21/2010.
• Rekdal, Paisley, “Whoso List to Hunt,” The Journal, Fall 2009. Rekdal, Paisley, “Whoso List to Hunt,” reprinted in Poets of the American West, ed. Lowell Britson, forthcoming 2010. Edited Volume, in press, 2009. Published, 2009.
• Rekdal, Paisley. Six Girls Without Pants. Spokane: Eastern Washington University Press, 2002. Published, 02/01/2002.
• Rekdal, Paisley. The Night My Mother Met Bruce Lee. New York: Pantheon Books, 2000. Reprinted in paperback by Vintage Books in 2002. Published, 10/01/2000.
• Rekdal, Paisley. A Crash of Rhinos. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2000. Winner of the Contemporary Poetry Series Award. Published, 10/01/2000.