Nathan Brown (poet)

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Nathan Brown
Brown in 2013
Brown in 2013
OccupationPoet, author, singer-songwriter
Notable awards2009 Oklahoma Book Award
Website
www.brownlines.com

Nathan Brown is an author, singer-songwriter, and award-winning poet who served as the Oklahoma Poet Laureate from 2013 to 2014.[1][2][3][4]

Life[edit]

Nathan Brown was born in Longview, Texas[5] on March 16, 1965.[6] His family moved to Norman, Oklahoma in January 1970, where he grew up and went to college. He was a professional musician in Nashville, Tennessee in his 20s and 30s.[7] He now hails from Wimberley,[8] a small town in the Hill Country of Texas where he has lived with his wife, Ashley, since 2013.

Nathan holds an interdisciplinary PhD in English and Journalism[9] with an emphasis in Creative and Professional Writing from the University of Oklahoma.[10][2] After teaching at OU for almost twenty years, he returned to the Austin area to be closer to the music scene there and tours the country full-time as a poet, musician, and workshop leader.[11] He has published 20 books, one of which (Two Tables Over) won the Oklahoma Book Award for Poetry,[8][1] and another, Karma Crisis: New and Selected Poems, was a finalist for the Paterson Poetry Prize in New Jersey.[8][12] He is the founder of Mezcalita Press.[6]

Brown has performed at numerous events including the Wordfest at the Waco Arts Cultural Fest,[11] the Taos Poetry Festival,[9] and the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival.[13] Brown has taught many writing workshops, including writing family stories at the Moore Library,[14] the Writers Workshop at Norman Public Library,[15] and ekphrastic poetry at the Fred Jones Museum of Art,[16] He was an artist-in-residence at the University of Central Oklahoma.[11] He also began as the instructor for the Descanso Creatives intensive workshop series in 2018. The workshops are a "deep-dive" and culturally-immersive writing experience. Beginning in Tuscany, Italy, future workshops are planned for Ireland (2019) and France (2020).

Brown edited the 2014 anthology Oklahoma Poems and their Poets which includes poetry by several notable poets, including Joy Harjo, Jeanetta Calhoun Mish, Naomi Shihab Nye, Benjamin Myers, Quraysh Ali Lansana, Carol Hamilton, Francine Ringold, and N. Scott Momaday.[17]

Awards[edit]

  • Oklahoma Book Award for Two Tables Over (2009)[18]

Works[edit]

Books[edit]

  • 100 Years (Mezcalita Press, 2019)
  • An Honest Day's Confession (Mezcalita Press, 2018)
  • An Honest Day's Prayer (Mezcalita Press, 2017)
  • An Honest Day's Ode (Mezcalita Press, 2017)
  • I Shouldn't Say... The Mostly Unedited Poems of Ezra E. Lipschitz (Mezcalita Press, 2017)
  • Arse Poetica: The Mostly Unedited Poems of Ezra E. Lipschitz (Mezcalita Press, 2017)
  • Apocalypse Soon: The Mostly Unedited Poems of Ezra E. Lipschitz (Mezcalita Press, 2017)
  • Don't Try, a collection of co-written poems with Jon Dee Graham (Mezcalita Press, 2016)
  • My Salvaged Heart: Story of a Cautious Courtship (Mezcalita Press, 2016)
  • To Sing Hallucinated: First Thoughts on Last Words (Mezcalita Press, 2015)[19]
  • Less Is More, More or Less (Mezcalita Press, 2013)
  • Karma Crisis:New and Selected Poems (Mezcalita Press, 2012)
  • Letters to the One-Armed Poet: A Memoir of Friendship, Loss, and Butternut Squash Ravioli (Village Books Press, 2011)[20]
  • My Sideways Heart (Mongrel Empire Press, 2010)
  • Two Tables Over (Village Books Press, 2008)
  • Not Exactly Job (Mongrel Empire Press, 2007)
  • Ashes over the Southwest (Greystone Press, 2005)
  • Suffer the Little Voices (Greystone Press, 2005)
  • Hobson's Choice (Greystone Press, 2002)

Anthologies[edit]

Editor[edit]

  • Oklahoma Poems, and Their Poets Mezcalita Press. 2014. ISBN 978-0983738329[21][22]

Contributor[edit]

  • Ain't Nobody That Can Sing Like Me: New Oklahoma Writing Mongrel Empire Press. 2010. ISBN 978-0980168495[23]
  • Waco Cultural Arts Fest: WordFest Anthology 2017 CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. 2017. ISBN 9781973833277[11]
  • The Working Man’s Hand: Celebrating Woody Guthrie Poems of Protest and Resistance Fine Dog Press. 2023. ISBN 9781955478168

Discography[edit]

  • The Streets of San Miguel (2019)
  • Gypsy Moon (2009)
  • The Why in the Road
  • Driftin' Away
  • Fall
  • What does this have to do with anything?

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Gov. Mary Fallin appoints Nathan Brown as Oklahoma poet laureate". The Oklahoman. December 23, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Poet Laureate Nathan Brown combines poetry and music". Cameron University Aggie Central. September 21, 2013. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  3. ^ "Oklahoma – State Poet Laureate (State Poets Laureate of the United States, Main Reading Room, Library of Congress)". Loc.gov. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  4. ^ "Poets Laureate – The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture". Okhistory.org. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  5. ^ Isaac, Jimmy Daniel (March 20, 2019). "Noted poet, local native appears here tonight". Longview News Journal. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Holliday, Shawn (2015). The Oklahoma Poets Laureate : a Sourcebook, History, and Anthology. Holliday, Shawn, 1969–, Barnes, Jim, 1933–, Brown, Nathan L. (Nathan Lee), 1965–, Davis, Delbert, 1883–1965., Fry, Maggie Culver, 1900–1998., Hamilton, Carol. (First ed.). Norman, Oklahoma: Mongrel Empire Press. pp. 291–294. ISBN 9780990320432. OCLC 905700998.
  7. ^ Carter, Richard (October 21, 2009). "Duo to perform at art museum". Times Record News. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c "Nathan Brown Poet". Mezcalita Press. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  9. ^ a b Kramer, Ariana (May 26, 2016). "Inspiring Words Taos Poetry Festival brings diversity and creative energy to audiences". The Taos News. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  10. ^ "Oklahoma Poet Laureate to present writing workshop in Miami". Bartlesville Examiner Enterprise. April 2, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  11. ^ a b c d "Wordfest Anthology". Waco Tribune Herald. June 30, 2018. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  12. ^ "Accomplished poet Nathan Brown visits the Central Coast". Paso Robles Daily News. March 15, 2018. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  13. ^ McDonnell, Brandy (July 11, 2014). "WoodyFest returns to Okemah with more than just music". The Daily Oklahoman. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  14. ^ "Workshop set on family stories". The Daily Oklahoman. July 3, 2013. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  15. ^ "Writers Workshop". The Daily Oklahoman. April 26, 2015. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  16. ^ Griswold, Jennifer (March 7, 2009). "Poet encourages students to find inspiration among museum walls". The Daily Oklahoman. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  17. ^ Brown, Nathan, ed., "Table of Contents," Oklahoma Poems and their Poets Mezcalita Press. 2014. ISBN 9780983738329 pp. iv-vi
  18. ^ "Poet to read at Depot". The Daily Oklahoman. June 30, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  19. ^ "Poetry Month Celebrated with Speakers". The Daily Oklahoman. April 26, 2015. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  20. ^ "Author honors friend in book". The Daily Oklahoman. July 7, 2011. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  21. ^ "Poetry reading set in Norman". The Daily Oklahoman. May 14, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  22. ^ "Book Notes". The Daily Oklahoman. August 2, 2015. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  23. ^ Andrews, Scott (June 26, 2011). "Anthology sounds a lot like home". Tulsa World. Retrieved October 26, 2023.

External links[edit]


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