Local Author David Biespiel Wins "Best Poetry of the Year" Award

Hooray for local artists getting national attention for their work!

David Biespiel, a beloved Portland-based poet and teacher, has just been awarded the Best Poetry of the Year by The Poetry Foundation. His new book of poems, The Book of Men and Women, explores the remorseful emotions of regret, longing, and loss through the complex relationships between members of the opposite gender.

Biespiel, who has been writing for much of his life, founded the independent writing studio The Attic in Southeast Portland in 1999. Still serving as its director, Biespiel also teaches weekly workshops at The Attic for students of all ages. He was named the editor of Poetry Northwest in 2005, a role he only just resigned from. (Read his resignation poem here.)

When Northwest poet Sherman Alexie sold out at Wordstock this summer, we wondered. When Portland poet Matthew Dickman won the coveted Tufts Poetry Award this fall, we were reminded. And now it looks as if our suspicions are confirmed: Portland is the new Mecca of American Poetry.