Sasha Steensen (she/hers) is the author of six books of poems: House of Deer, The Method, and A Magic Book, all from Fence Books; Gatherest (Ahsahta Press); Everything Awake (Shearsman Press); and Well (Parlor Press, 2024). Recent essays have appeared in Tupelo Quarterly, Interim, and Essay Press. Steensen teaches Creative Writing and Literature at Colorado State University, where she was named the 2023 Stern Distinguished Professor. She is a poetry editor for Colorado Review and an editor for the Test Site Poetry Series. Living in Fort Collins, Colorado with her husband and two daughters, she tends a garden, a flock of chickens, two standard poodles, and a very fierce barn cat.
CURRICULUM VITAE
EDUCATION
2005, Ph.D., State University of New York, Buffalo
2000, M.F.A., Creative Writing, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
1997, B.A., History, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
ACADEMIC POSITIONS
& AWARDS
2023 Stern Distinguished Professor Award
2020 Global Teaching Scholar, Semester at Sea
2005-present,Professor, English, Colorado State University
2000-2005, Graduate Assistant, English, State University of New York, Buffalo
2004, Instructor, English, Central Methodist College, Fayette, Missouri
1998-2000, Graduate Assistant, English, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
PUBLISHED WORKS
Books:
2024, Well (forthcoming), Parlor Press
2021, Everything Awake, Shearsman
2017, Gatherest, Ahsahta Press
2014, House of Deer, Fence Books
2008, The Method, Fence Books
2004, A Magic Book, Fence Books
Chapbooks:
2015. “Openings: Onto Our Vertical Cosmos,” Essay Press
2012, Waters: A Lenten Poem, Free Poetry
2011, A History of the Human Family, Flying Guillotine Press
2008, The Future of an Illusion, Dos Press
2004, Hadfield, Gordon and Sasha Steensen, correspondence, Handwritten Press
Selected Recent Poetry Publications, Online:
Tupelo Quarterly: Given
Poetry Daily: My Body, A Barometer and 7. (eighteen line poem for gordon)
Volta: Heir Apparent: Noonday Prayers
Omniverse: Aflame, it itself made
Evening Will Come: I Couldn’t Stop Watching
Academy of American Poet’s Daily Poetry Series: The Undertow
Poetry, Print:
Print Publications have appeared in: Seneca Review; Interim; Kenyon Review; West Branch; Denver Quarterly;Aufgaube; Bombay Gin; La Petit Zine; Dusie; Northside Review, Jubilat; The Laurel Review, among others.
Selected Articles and Essays:
“The (Un)Familiar Essay,“ Tupelo Quarterly
“The Monster in the Rotunda: Anne Carson’s The Autobiography of Red, The Poet’s Novel (anthology, critical essay), Nightboat Books.
“Pure Shame,” Interim, Volume 34, Issue 5
“Returning to a Wild Country,” Interim, Winter 2019, Vol 35, Issue 5, p 156-162.
“Bellwethers: Shame and My Left Breast,” Reflections on the Election, Essay Press. 2014.
“With Pleasure: Gertrude Stein and the Sentence Diagram,” Taos Journal of International Poetry and Art
“Cunt, Great Mother, Cow or Whore: Charles Olson’s Unlikely Influence on Contemporary Female Poets.” The Worchester Review, Vol. XXXI, Numbers 1 & 2, 127-134.
“Porous and Continuous with the World: Mei Mei Berssenbrugge’s Four Year Old Girl,” Quo Anima, University of Akron Press
SELECTED PERFORMANCES
Sasha Steensen has participated in Readings and Talks in locations National and International, including London, England; Paris, France; New York City; NY; Buffalo, NY; Boulder, CO; Denver CO; Los Angeles, CA; Seattle, WA; Chicago, IL; Washington D.C.; Iowa City, IA; Las Vegas, NV; Worcester, MA; Venice, CA; Worcester, MA; Cambridge, MA; Austin, TX; Atlanta, GA; Philadelphia, PA
SELECTED PRESENTATIONS
& LECTURES
Sasha Steensen has offered presentations and delivered lectures at The Associated Writing Program’s Annual Conference, &Now Conference; The Olson Centennial; Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture; Modern Language Association Conference; Harvard University; The University of Denver; and The University of Colorado, Boulder, among others.
EDITING
2007 – present, Poetry Editor, Colorado Review
2006 – 2020, Co-Editor, Bonfire Press
TEACHING
Selected Graduate Courses:
Poetry Workshop
Graduate Course: Hybrid Writing
Form and Technique: Poetry
Graduate Seminar: In the American Grain, Poets and American History
Graduate Seminar: The Ecstasy of Influence
Selected Undergraduate Courses:
Senior Capstone: Major Author, Emily Dickinson
Modern Poetry
Contemporary Poetry
Advanced Poetry Workshop
Introduction to American Literature
Introduction to Poetry
Intermediate Poetry Workshop
Modern Women Writers