Joyce Sutphen

Joyce Sutphen (August 10, 1949-) grew up on a farm in Minnesota. Sutphen earned her degrees from the University of Minnesota, including a Ph.D in Renaissance Drama. She taught British Literature and creative writing at Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter and now lives in Chaska, Minnesota. In 2011, Sutphen was named as Minnesota’s second Poet Laureate, following Robert Bly. She has written several books of poetry.

Sutphen’s first book of poetry, Straight Out of View, won a Barnard New Women Poets Prize in 1995, and in 2005, her collection Naming the Stars won a Minnesota Book Award. Another collection of Sutphen’s poetry, Coming Back to the Body, was a finalist for a Minnesota Book Award in 2000. Sutphen’s poetry often references classic literature and are composed in traditional forms. Sutphen, who studied Shakespeare, published a chapbook called Fourteen Sonnets in 2005. Her most recent poetry collection, Carrying Water to the Field: New and Selected Poems was published in 2019.