Born: June 5, 1926
Died: December 18, 2021
Ohio connection: Birth
Massillon
David Russell Wagoner was born in Massillon, Ohio, in 1926, the son of Walter Siffert and Ruth Banyard Wagoner. In 1933, the family relocated to Whiting, a city outside Gary, Indiana.
A voracious reader, Wagoner began writing poetry while in grade school. After graduating from high school, Wagoner entered Pennsylvania State University and enrolled in an accelerated Naval ROTC program. After attending a poetry workshop taught by Theodore Roethke (who would become his friend and mentor), Wagoner decided to make writing poetry and teaching English his vocation. He received his B.A. in 1947 and an M.A. in English from Indiana University in 1949 after which Wagoner spent one year teaching at DePauw University before returning to Pennsylvania to teach at Penn State. In 1954, he moved to Seattle, Washington, joining the faculty of the University of Washington. There he steadily rose within the English Department, retiring in 2002. During his tenure, Wagoner became a celebrated writer and editor, publishing 24 volumes of poetry, ten novels, and two plays.
A reverence for nature is articulated in Wagoner’s poetry and novels through a style that is celebratory, compassionate, and often reflective. His first book of poetry, Dry Sun, Dry Wind was published in 1953. After relocating to the Pacific Northwest, Wagoner published Nesting Ground (1963), Who Shall be the Sun (1978). His novels include The Man in the Middle (1954), Money, Money, Money (1955), The Escape Artist (1965), Where is My Wondering Boy Tonight? (1970), and The Hanging Garden (1980).
David Russell Wagoner died in his sleep at a nursing home in Edmonds, Washington, on December 18, 2021. He was 95 years old.
Awards
Guggenheim fellowship in fiction, 1956; Ford Foundation fellowship in drama, 1964; Morton Dauwen Zabel Prize in poetry, 1967; National Institute of Arts and Letters award, 1967; National Council on the Arts award, 1969; awarded second prize, Emily Clark Balch Poetry Contest, Virginia Quarterly Review, 1974; Blumenthal Prize, Poetry magazine, 1974; Fels Prize for poetry and Fels Prize for editing, Coordinating Council of Literary Magazines, both 1975; National Book Award in poetry nominations, 1975 and 1977; Tietjens Prize, Poetry magazine, 1977; elected chancellor, Academy of American Poets, 1978; American Book Award in poetry nomination, 1980; Sherwood Anderson Award in Fiction, 1980; Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, 1986; Ohioana Book Award for Walt Whitman Bathing, 1997.
Books
Additional Resources
Wikipedia Article: David Wagoner
Internet Archive texts for David Wagoner