Wikipedia

Diana Arterian

Diana Arterian is an American poet, writer, critic, editor, and translator.

Diana Arterian
Born1985 (age 38–39)
United States
OccupationWriter, critic, editor, professor
EducationCalifornia Institute of the Arts (M.F.A.)
University of Southern California (Ph.D.)
GenrePoetry, essay, criticism

Life

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Arterian was born and raised in Arizona.[1] She attended California Institute of the Arts, where she obtained her MFA and was mentored by Maggie Nelson.[2] She earned her PhD in Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Southern California.[3] She lives in Cambridge and Los Angeles.

Arterian has had fellowships and residencies at Banff Centre, Millay Arts, Vermont Studio Center, and Yaddo.[4]

She is a poetry editor for Noemi Press,[5] and curates and writes the "Annotated Nightstand" column at Literary Hub.[6]

Work

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Agrippina the Younger

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Arterian's second poetry collection is forthcoming with Northwestern University Press' imprint Curbstone in 2025.[7]

Playing Monster :: Seiche

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Arterian's first book of poetry, Playing Monster :: Seiche, received a starred review in Publishers Weekly, which states, "Arterian weaves a family narrative of devastating clarity from letters, found text, memories, and more in her striking debut...The post-traumatic stress of a family is a complex subject that Arterian skillfully describes in plain language, achieving deep emotionality."[8] Allie Rowbottom writes in her review, "At once ambitious and restrained, [Playing Monster :: Seiche] demonstrates not only Arterian’s lyrical range and knack for producing work with a certain epic energy, but also her ability to pair delicate content (in this case the trauma of domestic abuse), with a form expressive of its deeper energetic truth. The result is a portrait of anxiety and fear that is both detailed, sweeping and evocative."[9]

The collection moves between two narratives to create a book-length poem describing Arterian's childhood experiences with abusive father in the "Playing Monster" portion, and her mother more recently having a stalker in the "Seiche" portion. In a conversation in the Los Angeles Review of Books, Arterian mentions some uncertainty about publishing a book that is emotionally difficult to read. She explains, "After some years of hand-wringing I decided it felt important to publish predominantly because the stability of the home is often a false facade — the home of the educated, white, middle-class family, in particular."[10] A "seiche" is a standing wave that moves across a body of water, which Arterian mentions embodies the feeling of dread in an abusive situation.[11] In an essay for the Poetry Foundation, she notes, "I recently came upon a piece of knowledge that links these two manuscripts in my mind more tightly than ever before. A seiche can produce a single ripple so large and strange to those who see it from afar it registers as unknown, as danger, as animal—as monster," as seiches at times convince viewers they see the Loch Ness Monster.[12]

Criticism

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Arterian's criticism has appeared widely, including in New York Times Book Review,[13] The Rumpus,[14] Los Angeles Review of Books,[15] Boston Review,[16] and she curates the "Annotated Nightstand" column at Literary Hub.[17]

Translation

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Her co-translations of the work of the late Afghan poet Nadia Anjuman completed with Marina Omar are published in a variety of journals, including Apogee Journal,[18] Arkansas International Review,[19] Asymptote Journal,[20] North American Review,[21] and Poet Lore.[22] The composer Reena Esmail set some of these co-translations to music, the performances of which have received positive reviews.[23]

World Poetry Books is publishing the translated collection, entitled Smoke Drifts, in 2025.[24]

Bibliography

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Collections

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Edited anthology

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  • Among Margins: Critical & Lyrical Writing on Aesthetics (Ricochet Editions, 2016). OCLC 956693921

Chapbooks

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  • Songs of Innorience (Argos Books, 2018). OCLC 1099278340
  • With Lightness & Darkness and Other Brief Pieces (Essay Press, 2017).[25]
  • Death Centos (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2014). OCLC 858816486

References

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  1. ^ Foundation, Poetry (2023-01-05). "Diana Arterian". Poetry Foundation. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  2. ^ Mclennan, Rob (2018-02-05). "rob mclennan's blog: 12 or 20 (second series) questions with Diana Arterian". rob mclennan's blog. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  3. ^ "Alumni > Ph.D. in Creative Writing & Literature > USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences". dornsife.usc.edu. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  4. ^ "About | Noemi Press". Noemi Press. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
  5. ^ "About | Noemi Press". Noemi Press. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
  6. ^ "The Annotated Nightstand – Literary Hub". Literary Hub. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
  7. ^ "Agrippina the Younger". Diana Arterian.
  8. ^ "Playing Monster :: Seiche". Publishers Weekly.
  9. ^ "Diana Arterian's "Playing Monster: Seiche" Is a Timely Reflection On the Impact Of Abuse | A WOMEN'S THING". 2017-12-11. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
  10. ^ "Los Angeles Review of Books". Los Angeles Review of Books. 2018-02-27. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
  11. ^ "Los Angeles Review of Books". Los Angeles Review of Books. 2018-02-27. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
  12. ^ Foundation, Poetry (2023-04-17). "The Work, the Edit, the Water: Coming to Terms With Editing Out by Diana Arterian". Poetry Foundation. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
  13. ^ Arterian, Diana (2019-06-17). "In 'A Sand Book,' Ariana Reines Finds Ecstasy in Chaos". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  14. ^ "Voyage Of The Sable Venus And Other Poems By Robin Coste Lewis - The Rumpus.net". therumpus.net. 20 November 2015. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  15. ^ "Los Angeles Review of Books". Los Angeles Review of Books. 2020-05-12. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  16. ^ "The Seduction of Normalcy". Boston Review. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  17. ^ "The Annotated Nightstand – Literary Hub". Literary Hub. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  18. ^ "Nadia Anjuman, The Sun of Knowledge". Apogee Journal. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  19. ^ "Nadia Anjuman". The Arkansas International. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  20. ^ "from Dark Flower - Asymptote". www.asymptotejournal.com. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  21. ^ "Vol. 303, No. 1, WINTER 2018 of The North American Review on JSTOR". www.jstor.org. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  22. ^ "Index Volume 114 1-4 – Poet Lore". Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  23. ^ "A Time To Celebrate". New Haven Independent. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  24. ^ "Nadia Anjuman Smoke Drifts". Diana Arterian.
  25. ^ "EP 94 – Essay Press".
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