Wikipedia

Russell Edson

Russell Edson (né Edelstein; 12 December 1928[1][2] – April 29, 2014) was an American poet, novelist, writer, and illustrator. He was the son of the cartoonist-screenwriter Gus Edson and Gladys Cedar Edson.

Russell Edson
Born
Russell Edelstein

(1928-12-12)December 12, 1928
Manhattan, New York, US
DiedApril 29, 2014(2014-04-29) (aged 85)
Occupation
Period1951–2009
Notable awards
ParentsGus Edson

Born in Manhattan, New York City,[2] Edson studied art early in life and attended the Art Students League as a teenager. He began publishing poetry in the 1950s. His honors as a poet include a Guggenheim fellowship,[3] a Whiting Award,[4] and several fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts.[5]

Edson self-published several chapbooks and later, numerous collections of prose poetry, fables, two novels, Gulping's Recital and The Song of Percival Peacock, and a book of plays under the title, The Falling Sickness. His final book was See Jack (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2009).

He lived in Darien, Connecticut with his wife Frances.[6][7]

Selected bibliography

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Prose poems collections

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  • See Jack (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2009)
  • The Rooster's Wife: Poems (BOA Editions, Ltd., 2005)
  • The Tormented Mirror (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2001)
  • The Tunnel: Selected Poems of Russell Edson (Oberlin College Press, 1994)
  • The Wounded Breakfast (Wesleyan University Press, 1985)
  • With Sincerest Regrets (Burning Deck Press, 1980)
  • The Reason Why the Closet-Man Is Never Sad (Wesleyan University Press, 1977)
  • Edson's Mentality (OINK! Press, 1977)
  • The Intuitive Journey and Other Works (Harper & Row, 1976)
  • Gulping's Recital (Guignol Books, 1984)
  • The Clam Theater (Wesleyan University Press, 1973)
  • The Childhood Of An Equestrian (Harper & Row, 1973)
  • Ceremonies in Bachelor Space (Grapnel Press, Black Mountain College, 1951)

Chapbooks

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  • Wuck Wuck Wuck! (with linocut by Richard Mock, Red Ozier Press, 1984)

Novels

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Short fiction and fables

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  • Tick Tock: Short Stories (illustrated with woodcuts, Demitasse/Coffee House Press, 1992)
  • What a Man Can See: Fables (with drawings by Ray Johnson, 1969)
  • The Brain Kitchen: Writings and Woodcuts (Thing Press, 1965)
  • The Very Thing That Happens: Fables and Drawings (New Directions Publishing, 1964)
  • Appearances: Fables and Drawings (Thing Press, 1961)
  • A Stone Is Nobody's: Fables and Drawings (Thing Press, 1961)

Plays

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Music

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  • Ketchup opera in 2 acts. Text By Russell Edson, music by Franklin Stover. Scored for 2 voices & chamber orchestra.
  • The Song of Percival Peacock - an entertainment for reed quintet and narrator set to prose poems of Russell Edson, by Franklin Stover. (Edition Hohenstaufen, 2017)

Honors and awards

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  • 1992 National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship[9]
  • 1989 Whiting Award
  • 1981 National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship
  • 1976 National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship
  • 1974 Guggenheim Fellowship

References

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  1. ↑ Edelstein, Russell. "United States Census 1930". FamilySearch. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  2. 1 2 1928 Birth Index, Vol 1. "New York City Birth Index | New York Genealogical & Biographical Society". www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org. Retrieved July 22, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ↑ "Russell Edson". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Archived from the original on October 1, 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Russell Edson, 1989 Winner in Poetry". Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation. Archived from the original on March 23, 2021. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Russell Edson". Poetry Foundation. Archived from the original on October 14, 2008. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  6. ↑ Russell Edson, Poet
  7. ↑ "Department of English Language and Literature - Department of English Language and Literature | University of South Carolina".
  8. ↑ "The falling sickness : a book of plays". Library of Congress. Retrieved December 9, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  9. ↑ National Endowment for the Arts > Forty Years of Supporting American Writers > Literature Fellowships Archived 2009-06-12 at the Wayback Machine
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