Tim Seibles facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tim Seibles
reading at Split This Rock, 2014
Born	1955 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Occupation	Professor of English Old Dominion University
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Southern Methodist University; Vermont College of Fine Arts
Genre	Poetry

Tim Seibles (born 1955) is an American poet and a professor. He was also the official Poet Laureate of Virginia for a time. He has written seven collections of poetry. His most recent book is Voodoo Libretto: New and Selected Poems, published in 2022. Tim Seibles has received many awards, including an Open Voice Award. He also earned fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2012, his book Fast Animal was nominated for a National Book Award.

Becoming a Writer

Tim Seibles became interested in poetry when he was a teenager. In the 1960s, he heard a poem called “Ego Tripping” by Nikki Giovanni. This poem really inspired him. It helped him find his own way of writing and the important messages he wanted to share.

Seibles believes that good poetry needs to balance safety and danger. This means writers should be brave enough to explore tough topics. For example, in his poem “Welcome Home,” he wrote about challenges related to race. He was influenced by the Black Arts Movement. This movement showed how Black poets could make a big impact on the world.

Tim Seibles writes about issues that affect people from all walks of life. His writing style can be funny or even angry. He uses these different styles to create powerful poems. He started writing in his twenties because it gave him freedom. He loved that poetry allowed him to express anything he wanted.

His Published Works

Tim Seibles' poems have appeared in many literary magazines. Some of these include Callaloo, The Kenyon Review, and Ploughshares. His work has also been featured in poetry collections. These include Verse & Universe: Poems About Science and Mathematics (1998). Another collection is New American Poets in the 90’s (1991).

One of his books, “Buffalo Head Solos,” came out in 2004. It includes some of his most important poems. The first poem, “Open Letter,” talks about what poetry can do for society. Seibles believes that reading poetry should be exciting. He tries to find deeper meanings in his poems.

One of his very important poems is “Douglass, A Last Letter.” This poem explores the life of Frederick Douglass. It looks at the impact Douglass had on the world. Seibles carefully chooses the length of his stanzas. This helps him create different voices, tones, and rhythms in his writing. He wanted to show the human side of historical figures. He also wanted to compare their struggles to modern life.

About His Life

Tim Seibles was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1955. He went to Southern Methodist University and earned his bachelor's degree in 1977. After college, he stayed in Dallas for ten years. During that time, he taught English at a high school.

He later earned his master's degree from Vermont College of Fine Arts in 1990. Today, he is a professor of English and creative writing. He teaches at Old Dominion University. He also teaches workshops for the Cave Canem Foundation.

Tim Seibles has a son named Cade Seibles. He lives in Norfolk, Virginia.

Awards and Honors

Tim Seibles has written seven collections of poetry. These include Buffalo Head Solos (2004) and Fast Animal (2012). His book Fast Animal received several awards. It won the Theodore Roethke Memorial Poetry Prize. It also earned the PEN/Oakland Josephine Miles Award. As mentioned earlier, it was nominated for the National Book Award in 2012. Some of his newest works have been published by Etruscan Press.

Books by Tim Seibles

Poetry Collections

• Voodoo Libretto: New and Selected Poems (Etruscan Press, 2022)
• One Turn Around the Sun (Etruscan Press, 2017)
• Fast Animal (Etruscan Press, 2012)
• Buffalo Head Solos (Cleveland State University Poetry Center, 2004)
• Hammerlock (Cleveland State University Poetry Center, 1999)
• Hurdy-Gurdy (Cleveland State University Poetry Center, 1992)
• Moves (Corona Press, 1988; Carnegie Mellon University Press, 2012)

Shorter Collections (Chapbooks)

• Ten Miles an Hour (Mille Grazie Press, 1998)
• Kerosene (Ampersand Press, 1995)

Poems in Other Books (Anthologies)

• African American poetry: 250 years of Struggle & Song (Library of America, 2020)
• Ghost Fishing: An Eco-Justice Poetry Anthology (University of Georgia Press, 2018)
• Seeds of Fire: Contemporary Poetry from the Other U. S. A. (Smokestack Books, 2008)