Marilyn Nelson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Marilyn Nelson
Born	(1946-04-26) April 26, 1946 (age 79) Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Pen name	Marilyn Nelson Waniek
Occupation	Professor, author, translator
Language	English
Nationality	American
Alma mater	University of California-Davis; University of Pennsylvania; University of Minnesota
Genre	Poetry

Marilyn Nelson (born April 26, 1946) is an American writer. She is known for her amazing poems, translations, and children's books. She used to be a professor at the University of Connecticut. She was also the official Poet Laureate of Connecticut, which means she was the state's top poet!

Marilyn Nelson has won many important awards, like the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize and the Frost Medal. For a while, she wrote under the name Marilyn Nelson Waniek. She has written or translated more than twenty books of poetry for both kids and adults. Many of her works explore history, especially African-American history. In 2014, she wrote a book about her own life called How I Discovered Poetry, which was named one of NPR's best books that year.

Early Life and Education

Marilyn Nelson was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on April 26, 1946. Her dad, Melvin M. Nelson, was a Tuskegee Airman, a brave pilot in the U.S. Air Force. Her mom, Johnnie Mitchell Nelson, was a teacher and a talented pianist.

Because her dad was in the military, Marilyn moved around a lot. She grew up on different military bases all over the United States. She started writing when she was in elementary school. But it was in a segregated middle school in Texas that she truly fell in love with poetry. There, she discovered the powerful works of African-American poets.

Marilyn went to college and earned several degrees. She got her first degree from the University of California-Davis. Later, she earned a master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1970. She then completed her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1979.

A Career in Poetry

In 1978, Marilyn Nelson became an English professor at the University of Connecticut. That same year, she published her first book of poems, called For the Body. From 2001 to 2006, she held the special title of poet laureate for the State of Connecticut. During this time, she also started a place called the Soul Mountain Retreat, which is a quiet spot for writers.

Even though she retired from the University of Connecticut in 2002, Marilyn kept writing actively. Her poems often focus on her family and on bringing African-American history to life. She also looks for the sacred, or special, in everyday things. Marilyn is known for using the African-American oral tradition in her writing, which means her poems often sound like stories told aloud.

Some of her famous poetry collections include The Homeplace, which won an award in 1992. Another important book is The Fields Of Praise: New And Selected Poems, which won the Poets' Prize in 1999. Both of these books were also finalists for the prestigious National Book Award.

Marilyn Nelson has received many honors throughout her career. These include fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and a Guggenheim Fellowship. In 2012, the Poetry Society of America gave her the Frost Medal, a very high honor for poets. In 2013, she was chosen to be a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets.

Published Works

Marilyn Nelson has written many books, both for adults and for young readers.

Poetry Books for All Ages

• For the Body (1978)
• Mama's Promises (1985)
• The Homeplace (1990)
• Magnificat (1994)
• The Fields of Praise: New and Selected Poems (1997)
• Carver: A Life in Poems (2001) - This book tells the story of George Washington Carver through poems.
• Fortune’s Bones: The Manumission Requiem (2004)
• The Cachoeira Tales, and Other Poems (2005)
• A Wreath for Emmett Till (2005) - This book is about Emmett Till, a young boy whose death helped start the Civil Rights Movement.
• The Freedom Business: Including A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture, a Native of Africa (2008)
• Sweethearts of Rhythm: The Story Of The Greatest All-Girl Swing Band In The World (2009) - This book tells the story of an amazing all-girl swing band.
• Faster Than Light: New and Selected Poems, 1996-2011 (2012)
• My Seneca Village (2015)
• The Meeting House (2016)
• American Ace (2016)
• How I Discovered Poetry (2016) - This is a memoir, a book about her own life.

Short Poetry Collections (Chapbooks)

• Partial Truth (1992)
• She-Devil Circus (2001)
• Triolets for Triolet (2001)
• The Freedom Business: Connecticut Landscapes Through the Eyes of Venture Smith (2006)

Books Written with Others

• The Cat Walked Through the Casserole (1984, with Pamela Espeland)
• Miss Crandall’s School for Young Ladies and Little Misses of Color (2007, with Elizabeth Alexander)
• Pemba's Song: A Ghost Story (2008, with Tonya Hegamin)
• Mrs. Nelson's Class (2012, as editor)

Translations of Other Authors' Works

Marilyn Nelson has also translated books from Danish into English, making them available to more readers.

• Hundreds of Hens and Other Poems for Children by Halfdan Rasmussen (1982, with Pamela Espeland)
• Hecuba by Euripides (1998)
• The Thirteenth Month by Inge Pedersen (2005)
• The Ladder by Halfdan Rasmussen (2006)
• A Little Bitty Man and Other Poems for the Very Young by Halfdan Rasmussen (2011, with Pamela Espeland)

Books Especially for Young Children

• The Cat Walked Through the Casserole (1984)
• Beautiful Ballerina (2009)
• Snook Alone (2010)
• Ostrich and Lark (2012)

Awards and Recognitions

Marilyn Nelson has received many awards for her writing. Here are some of them:

• National Endowment for the Arts fellowships (1981, 1990)
• Connecticut Arts Award (1990)
• Anisfield-Wolf Book Award (1992)
• Fulbright teaching fellowship (1995)
• The Poets Award (1998)
• Poets' Prize (1999) for The Fields of Praise: New and Selected Poems
• Poet Laureate for the State of Connecticut (2001-2006)
• J.S. Guggenheim Memorial Foundation fellowship (2001) for Carver: A Life in Poems
• Boston Globe/Horn Book Award (2001) for Carver: A Life in Poems
• National Book Award finalist in young-people's literature (2001) for Carver: A Life in Poems
• Newbery Honor designation (2002) for Carver: A Life in Poems
• Coretta Scott King Book Award (2005) for Fortune's Bones: The Manumission Requiem
• Michael L. Printz Award honor book designation (2006) for A Wreath for Emmett Till
• NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature (2017)
• Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize (2019) – This award recognized her for highlighting important topics like race, feminism, and the history of slavery in America through her poetry.