Wier, Dara 1949-

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WIER, Dara 1949-

PERSONAL: Born December 30, 1949, in New Orleans, LA; daughter of Arthur Joseph (a director of vocational rehabilitation services) and Grace Cecile (a teacher; maiden name, Barrois) Dixon; married Michael Pettit; children: Emily Caitlin, Guy Gerard. Education: Attended Louisiana State University, 1967-70; Longwood College, B.S., 1971; Bowling Green State University, M.F.A., 1974.

ADDRESSES: Home—504 Montague Rd., Amherst, MA 01002. Office—Department of English, 461 Bartlett Hall, University of Massachusetts—Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003; fax: 413-545-3880. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, instructor in English, 1974-75; Hollins College, Hollins, VA, instructor, 1975-76, assistant professor of English, 1977-80; University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, associate professor of English, 1980-85, director of graduate studies, 1980-82, director of creative writing program, 1984-85; University of Massachusetts—Amherst, associate professor, 1985-87, professor of English, 1988—, director of M.F.A. program in English, 1992—. Visiting professor, Emory University, 1979, University of Utah, 1979, Baylor University, 1980, Bennington College, 1982, University of Texas, 1983, and University of Idaho, 1985; University of Montana, Richard Hugo Memorial Chair, spring, 1993. Panelist, judge, and referee for numerous writing award and fellowship programs; lecturer and speaker at workshops, symposia, conferences, and meetings.

MEMBER: Authors Guild, Authors League of America, PEN, Poetry Society of America, Associated Writing Programs (member of board of directors, 1979-82; vice president, 1979-80; president, 1980-81; member of directors' council, 1986-88, 1992-95).

AWARDS, HONORS: National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, 1980; University of Alabama research grant, 1984; Richard Hugo Memorial Award, 1991; Guggenheim fellowship, 1992-93; awards from Massachusetts Arts Council and American Poetry Review.

WRITINGS:

poetry

Blood, Hook, & Eye, University of Texas Press (Austin, TX), 1977.

The 8-Step Grapevine, Carnegie-Mellon University Press (Pittsburgh, PA), 1981.

All You Have in Common, Carnegie-Mellon University Press (Pittsburgh, PA), 1984.

The Book of Knowledge, Carnegie-Mellon University Press (Pittsburgh, PA), 1989.

Blue for the Plough, Carnegie-Mellon University Press (Pittsburgh, PA), 1992.

Aerial View of a Labyrinth, Carnegie-Mellon University Press (Pittsburgh, PA), 1996.

Our Master Plan, Carnegie-Mellon University Press (Pittsburgh, PA), 1999.

Voyages in English, Carnegie-Mellon University Press (Pittsburgh, PA), 2001.

Hat on a Pond, Verse Press (Atlanta, GA), 2001.

Reverse Rapture, Verse Press (Amherst, MA), 2005.

Contributor to anthologies, including Intro Six, edited by George Garrett, Anchor Books (New York, NY), 1974; Tangled Vines, edited by Lyn Lifshin, Beacon Press (Boston, MA), 1978; The Morrow Anthology of Younger American Poets, edited by Dave Smith and David Bottoms, Morrow (New York, NY), 1985; The Hampden-Sydney Poetry Review Anthology, edited by Tom O'Grady, Hampden-Sydney College and Virginia Commission for the Arts, 1990; and The Carnegie-Mellon Anthology of Poetry, edited by Gerald Costanzo and Jim Daniels, Carnegie-Mellon University Press (Pittsburgh, PA), 1993.

other

Editor, University of Alabama Press Poetry Series, 1980-86. Contributor of poetry, short stories, essays, and reviews to periodicals, including Seattle Review, Gettysburg Review, Boulevard, Southern Review, New Republic, North American Review, Iowa Review, American Poetry Review, New England Review, and Harvard Review.