Jennifer K. Sweeney Explained

Jennifer K. Sweeney
Birth Date:	1973
Birth Place:	Connecticut
Occupation:	Poet, teacher
Notableworks:	How to Ride on Bread and Music, Salt Memory
Spouse:	Chad Sweeney
Awards:	James Laughlin Award 2009 from the Academy of American Poets; Perugia Press Prize 2009; Main Street Rag Poetry Prize 2006; Elinor Benedict Poetry Prize from Passages North 2009

Jennifer K. Sweeney is an American poet.

Life

Sweeney is the author of four poetry collections, Foxlogic, Fireweed (Backwaters Press/University of Nebraska, 2020) winner of the Backwaters Prize,^[1] Little Spells (New Issues Poetry & Prose, 2015), How to Live on Bread and Music (Perugia Press, 2009), winner of the 2009 James Laughlin Award^[2] and the 2009 Perugia Press Prize. Her first collection, Salt Memory (Main Street Rag, 2006) won the 2006 Main Street Rag Poetry Award. Her poems have appeared in journals and magazines including Southern Review, Hunger Mountain, Crab Orchard, Spoon River and Passages North, where she won the 2009 Elinor Benedict Poetry Prize. Her honors include a Cultural Equities Grant from the San Francisco Arts Commission and a residency from Hedgebrook. Sweeney holds an M.F.A. from Vermont College of Fine Arts and serves as assistant editor for DMQ Review. Born in 1973, she grew up in Tolland, Connecticut. After teaching in San Francisco for twelve years, she relocated to Kalamazoo, Michigan, with her husband, poet Chad Sweeney.^[3] She now lives in California.^[4]

Honors and awards

• 2019 Backwaters Prize in Poetry^[5]
• 2009 James Laughlin Award
• 2009 Perugia Press Prize
• 2006 Main Street Rag Poetry Award

Works

Poems online

• A few poems at Poets.org/Academy of American Poets
• "Happy People". Hunger Mountain, 2009.
• "How to Grow a Mushroom". The Pedestal, Issue 51.
• "How to Live on Bread and Music," "Comfort". Del Sol Review, Summer 2008, 15.
• "33 Umbrellas". DMQ Review, May 2007.
• "How to Make Armor". Parthenon West Review, Issue 5.
• "What Call," "How to Make a Game of Waiting". Electronic Poetry Review, Issue 8.
• "The Bird Carver". The Pedestal, Issue 35.
• "Crooked Little Teeth," "The Game of Life". The Adroit Journal, Issue 17.

Published works

• Foxlogic, Fireweed (Backwaters Press/University of Nebraska, 2020)
• Little Spells (New Issues Poetry & Prose, 2015)
• How to Live on Bread and Music (Perugia Press, 2009)^[6]
• Salt Memory (Main Street Rag Publications, 2006)^[7]

External links

• Reviews

• The Pedestal Magazine > Archives > ISSUE THIRTY-SEVEN: Dec (06)- Feb (07) > Reviews > Review by JoSelle Vanderhooft of Salt Memory by Jennifer K. Sweeney
• Video/audio links

• "Of Gravity and Will". Moe's Books, Berkeley, CA, August 2008.

• "Full Poetry Reading at Moe's". Moe's Books, Berkeley, CA, August 2008.

• "Apology," "Ode to a Banana Slug". Parthenon West Review, Issue 1, 2004.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Foxlogic, Fireweed . 2023-04-24 . Nebraska Press . en-US.
2. Web site: Academy of American Poets > James Laughlin Award . 2009-08-31 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090423114721/http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/109 . 2009-04-23 . dead .
3. Web site: Perugia Press > Author Page > Jennifer K. Sweeney . 2009-08-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090716022225/http://www.perugiapress.com/books2009_bread.html . 2009-07-16 . dead .
4. Web site: Jennifer K. Sweeney. Sweeney. Jennifer K.. 2009-08-12. Jennifer K. Sweeney. en. 2018-01-05.
5. Web site: Foxlogic, Fireweed . 2023-04-24 . Nebraska Press . en-US.
6. Web site: Perugia Press > Author Page > Jennifer K. Sweeney . 2009-08-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090716022225/http://www.perugiapress.com/books2009_bread.html . 2009-07-16 . dead .
7. Web site: Main Street Rag Publishing Co. > Winner of the 2006 Main Street Rag Poetry Award . 2009-08-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100107004918/http://www.mainstreetrag.com/JK_Sweeney.html . 2010-01-07 . dead .