Lund, Orval 1940-

PERSONAL:

Born May 11, 1940, in Fargo, ND; son of Orval (a rural letter carrier) and Katherine (a homemaker) Lund; widower; children: two sons. Ethnicity: "Swedish-American." Education: North Dakota State University, B.S., 1965; Moorhead State College (now University), B.A., 1966; University of Arizona, M.A., 1968; Vermont College, M.F.A., 1987. Politics: "Liberal." Religion: "Lapsed Lutheran." Hobbies and other interests: Fly fishing, deer hunting, tennis, gardening, travel.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Winona, MN. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Winona State University, Winona, MN, professor of English, 1968-2002; retired, 2002. Minnesota Humanities Commission, director, 1989-95; gives readings from his works. Military service: U.S. Army, 1962-63.

MEMBER:

Associated Writing Programs.

WRITINGS:

Take Paradise (poetry chapbook), Dacotah Territory Press (Moorhead, MN), 1989.

Ordinary Days (poetry chapbook), Dacotah Territory Press (Moorhead, MN), 1996.

Casting Lines (poetry), New Rivers Press (Minneapolis, MN), 1999.

Work represented in anthologies. Contributor of essays and reviews to little magazines and newspapers. Past editor, Great River Review.

SIDELIGHTS:

Orval Lund once told CA: "Having forsaken the strict Lutheranism of my small-town upbringing and having always loved reading fiction and poetry, naturally reading and writing became my religion. When I am writing, I am more alert and alive—in my senses, in my imagination. Having forsaken the concept that temporarily replaced religion for me—that everything in life ought to be judged by logic, poetry has given me a way of relating to life and others that is meaningful and sustaining. Whitman's ‘Song of Myself’ is a guide to life and morality superior to Luther's Catechism. If I forsook my family religion, I have forsaken neither my family nor my roots. The prairie landscape in which I was raised remains central to my imagination, as do the family and people around whom I grew up. I am proud of my Midwestern heritage and hopeful that it speaks universally to some people in my work. I was a teacher before being a writer, but now in my latter years writing is become more and more important."