Personal Info
- Country of residence: United States
Information
Naomi Shihab Nye (born March 12, 1952) is a poet, songwriter, and novelist. She was born to a Palestinian father and an American mother. Although she calls herself a "wandering poet", she refers to San Antonio as her home. She says a visit to her grandmother in the village of Sinjil was a life-changing experience. Nye was the recipient of the 2013 NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature.
At the age of seven, Nye began writing poems for a magazine article. She was influenced by her mother. Many of her early works were based on things such as cats, squirrels, friends, teachers, etc. When she was fourteen she moved to the West Bank with her family. There she visited her Palestinian grandmother and moved back to San Antonio a year later, while the Six Day War was brewing. She attended Trinity University, receiving a BA in English and world religions, and lives in San Antonio to this day.
These experiences of being part of both a majority and minority in cultures heavily influenced her political views and would eventually become part of the messages in her many collections of poetry. Her book Fuel is an example. Some of her earlier works were published in Seventeen, Modern Poetry Studies, and Ironwood.
She refers to herself as the “wandering poet” because she has traveled the world to hold writing workshops and inspire people of all ages for about 40 years. She is an author of many poetry books and children fictions. Her poems are based on heritage and peace and are connected to her experience as an Arab-American. Her work has been acknowledged by many journals and reviews throughout the world. In 2009, she was elected a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets.
She is married to photographer Micheal Nye. They have a son (born 1989) named Madison.
Poetry:
Different Ways to Pray: Poems. Breitenbush Publications. 1980. ISBN 978-0-932576-04-0.
Hugging the Jukebox. Dutton. 1982. ISBN 978-0-525-47703-7.
Yellow Glove. Breitenbush Books. 1986. ISBN 978-0-932576-41-5.
Red Suitcase: Poems. BOA Editions. 1994. ISBN 978-1-880238-14-1.
Novels:
Habibi
The Turtle of Oman
Achievements and Awards
- Years in active
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