April Ossmann
{{short description|American poet, teacher, and editor}}
{{Infobox person
| image =
| image_size =
| name = April Ossmann
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date =
| birth_place = Santa Barbara, California
| death_date =
| death_place =
| death_cause =
| restingplace =
| nationality = American
| education =
| alma mater = Dartmouth College, 1992 B.A.
Vermont College of Fine Arts, M.F.A.
| occupation = Poet, teacher and editor
| spouse =
| parents =
| children =
| relatives =
| website =
}}
April Ossmann is an American poet, teacher, and editor. She is author of Event Boundaries (Four Way Books, 2017) and Anxious Music (Four Way Books, 2007), and has had her poems published in many literary journals including Harvard Review, Hayden’s Ferry Review, Puerto del Sol, Seneca Review, Passages North, Mid-American Review,[http://www.bgsu.edu/studentlife/organizations/midamericanreview/18-2.html Mid-American Review | Volume XVIII, No. 2 | Spring 1998 | TOC] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090930011948/http://www.bgsu.edu/studentlife/organizations/midamericanreview/18-2.html |date=September 30, 2009 }} and Colorado Review, and in anthologies including From the Fishouse (Persea Books, 2009),[https://www.perseabooks.com/from-the-fishouse/ Persea Books | From the Fishouse: An Anthology of Poems that Sing, Rhyme, Resound, Syncopate, Alliterate, and Just Plain Sound Great | Edited by Camille T. Dungy, Matt O'Donnell & Jeffrey Thomson] and Contemporary Poetry of New England (Middlebury College Press, 2002). Her awards include a 2000 Prairie Schooner Reader's Choice Award.[http://www.unl.edu/ucomm/ucomm/2001/0201/021301cnews.html University of Nebraska – Lincoln Website | News Releases | 02/13/01] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608024631/http://www.unl.edu/ucomm/ucomm/2001/0201/021301cnews.html |date=June 8, 2011 }} Her essays have been published in Poets & Writers,[https://www.pw.org/content/thinking_like_an_editor_how_to_order_your_poetry_manuscript_0 Poets & Writers | The Practical Writer | Thinking Like an Editor: How to Order Your Poetry Manuscript | by April Ossmann | 02/28/2011] and by the Poetry Foundation.[https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/april-ossmann Poetry Foundation | Poets | April Ossmann | Prose by This Poet]
Career
Ossmann worked as an assistant, and then associate, editor for the University Press of New England for over three years.
= Alice James Books =
Ossmann was executive director of Alice James Books from 2000 to 2008, presiding over a period of growth that, according to Poets & Writers, saw the press budget more than double in size,[http://www.pw.org/content/qampa_april_ossmann%E2%80%99s_alice_james_fix Poets & Writers | March 1, 2009 | Q & A: April Ossmann’s Alice James Fix by Kevin Larimer] and saw the publication of the best-selling Here, Bullet, by Brian Turner, which garnered major media attention.[http://www.alicejamesbooks.org/here_bullet.html Alice James Books | Brian Turner’s Author Page] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210042540/http://www.alicejamesbooks.org/here_bullet.html |date=2009-02-10 }}[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/war-veteran-brian-turner-reads-his-poetry Online NewsHour | Poetry Series | Poet Profile | Brian Turner | PBS][http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/11/14/051114ta_talk_goodyear The New Yorker | The Talk of the Town | Ink: War Poet | by Dana Goodyear, 11-14-05][http://www.strykernews.com/archives/cat_32_brigade_news.html McClatchy News – Washington Bureau | Veteran Turns War Poet | By Michael Doyle | November 18, 2005] According to Publishers Weekly, which interviewed Ossmann on the occasion of Alice James Books’ thirtieth anniversary, "the press received a three-year, $250,000 stabilization grant from an anonymous donor...With the grant, the press added two full-time staffers, upgraded its equipment, and launched a website with secure online ordering. The press also signed with a trade distributor for the first time, Consortium Book Sales and Distribution."[https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20030519/30757-alice-james-books-at-30.html Interview with Ossmann by Publishers Weekly | Alice James Books at 30 | by Judith Rosen | 05/19/2003] According to Valley News (West Lebanon, NH) reporter Kristen Fountain, “It was an all-consuming, life-changing position, during which she stabilized the company's financial structure, increased its output and helped push its books into the national press.”[http://www.vnews.com/05222009/5685722.htm Profile: Valley News | Close-up: A Poet Makes Her Home in the Land of Robert Frost | By Kristen Fountain | Friday, May 22, 2009] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090619042744/http://www.vnews.com/05222009/5685722.htm |date=June 19, 2009 }}
Since leaving Alice James Books in 2008[https://www.pw.org/directory/writers/april_ossmann Poets & Writers Directory | April Ossmann] to launch her own business, she has worked as a freelance editor and consultant.[http://www.pw.org/content/qampa_april_ossmann%E2%80%99s_alice_james_fix Poets & Writers | March 1, 2009 | Q & A: April Ossmann’s Alice James Fix by Kevin Larimer][https://www.pw.org/directory/writers/april_ossmann Poets & Writers Directory | April Ossmann][https://www.vermontartscouncil.org/blog/reaching-for-mastery/ Vermont Arts Council | Featured Stories | Reaching for Mastery | Interview with April Ossmann by Susan MacDowell | March 30, 2017][https://theadroitjournal.org/2019/04/23/conversations-with-contributors-francesca-bell/ The Adroit Journal Conversations with Contributors: Francesca Bell | by Lisa Higgs | April 23, 2019]
= Teaching =
Ossmann has taught literature and creative writing for the MFA in Creative Writing Program at Sierra Nevada College at Lake Tahoe,[https://www.pw.org/directory/writers/april_ossmann Poets & Writers Directory | April Ossmann] the University of Maine at Farmington, and Lebanon College,[http://www.pw.org/content/april_ossmann_0 Poets & Writers | Directory of Writers | April Ossmann] and has performed at Stonecoast MFA Program in Creative Writing residencies and the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference[http://www.middlebury.edu/academics/blwc/faculty/2005_Faculty.htm Middlebury College Website | Academics | Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference | Faculty | 2005 faculty] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090718151603/http://www.middlebury.edu/academics/blwc/faculty/2005_Faculty.htm |date=July 18, 2009 }} as a visiting publisher. She currently teaches poetry workshops[http://www.poetrysocietyofvermont.org/events/summerfestival.html Poetry Society of Vermont Summer Festival Saturday August 7, 2021 Poetry Workshop with April Ossmann August 7, 2021][http://www.sacramentopoetrycenter.com/workshops/sacramento-poetry-center-conference-archive/ Sacramento Poetry Center Conference Archive | Spring 2018 Presenters | Thinking Like a Poetry Editor: How to Self-Edit a Poetry Manuscript, with April Ossmann] and private tutorials.[https://www.pw.org/directory/writers/april_ossmann Poets & Writers Directory | April Ossmann]
Published works
- Event Boundaries (Four Way Books, 2017)
- Anxious Music (Four Way Books, 2007)
Reception
Publishers Weekly, in reviewing Anxious Music, wrote that Ossmann's voice is "remarkable for its confidence and fierceness."[https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-884800-81-8 Publishers Weekly | 11/19/2007 | Review of Anxious Music by April Ossmann] Event Boundaries was a finalist for the 2018 Vermont Book Award,[https://vcfa.edu/vba-finalists-winners/ Vermont College of Fine Arts | Vermont Book Award Finalists and Winners] and Ossmann received a 2013 Vermont Arts Council Creation Grant for the manuscript-in-progress.[https://www.vnews.com/Archives/2012/11/BookNotes-ah-vn-112312 “Valley News” | Book Notes: Post Mills Poet and Editor Wins Grant | Friday, November 3, 2012][https://www.vermontartscouncil.org/blog/reaching-for-mastery/ Vermont Arts Council blog | March 30, 2017 | “Reaching for Mastery” Posted by Susan McDowell] In its review of the book, Library Journal wrote, “The poems are beautiful and subtly witty, complicated and deceptively honest.”[https://www.libraryjournal.com/?reviewDetail=event-boundaries Library Journal | 04/01/2017 | Event Boundaries Reviewed by Karla Huston] Ossmann has been interviewed by radio programs in California,[https://www.loispjones.com/april-ossmann-on-poets-cafe/ Lois P. Jones | Radio: Poets Café Interviews | KFPK 90.7 FM Los Angeles | April Ossmann on Poets Café][https://www.capradio.org/93463 capradio 90.9 FM | Arts and Lifestyles | Insight with Viki Gonzales | Event Boundaries Explores Relationships with Self and Others | April 24, 2017 | Sacramento, CA] podcast in Vermont,[https://writethebook.podbean.com/e/april-ossmann-interview-510-52118/ Write the Book: Conversations on Craft | April Ossmann Interview | #510 May 21, 2018] and in print by the Valley News,[https://www.vnews.com/April-Ossmann-s-new-poetry-collection-reckons-with-mortality-11262153 Valley News | Book Notes: West Windsor Poet’s Work Takes Turn | by EmmaJean Holley | July 14, 2017][https://www.vnews.com/Archives/2012/11/BookNotes-ah-vn-112312 Valley News | Archives | Book Notes: Post Mills Poet and Editor Wins Grant | by Alex Hanson | November 23, 2012] the Vermont Arts Council,[https://www.vermontartscouncil.org/blog/reaching-for-mastery/ Vermont Arts Council | Featured Stories | Reaching for Mastery | Interview with April Ossmann by Susan MacDowell | March 30, 2017] and The Southeast Review.[https://web.archive.org/web/20090618054102/http://southeastreview.org/2008/ossmann.php The Wayback Machine | An Interview with April Ossmann | The Southeast Review Online | By Amber Pearson | 08/06/2008]
Personal
Ossmann was born in Santa Barbara, California and raised there and in Richmond and Vacaville, California.[https://web.archive.org/web/20120306090133/http://www.pw.org/content/april_ossmann_0 Poets & Writers Directory, April Ossmann Listing] She moved to Vermont in 1985, and worked her way through college as a waitress, receiving her A.B. from Dartmouth College in 1992, then earned her MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She currently lives and works in White River Junction, Vermont.[https://www.pw.org/directory/writers/april_ossmann Poets & Writers Directory | April Ossmann]
References
{{Reflist}}
= Sources =
- [http://www.aprilossmann.com/ April Ossmann website]
- [https://www.pw.org/directory/writers/april_ossmann Poets & Writers Directory, April Ossmann Listing]
- [https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20030519/30757-alice-james-books-at-30.html Interview with Ossmann by Publishers Weekly | Alice James Books at 30 | by Judith Rosen | 05/19/2003]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110716104420/https://www.forewordmagazine.net/ftw/ftwarchives.aspx?id=20030723.txt Interview with April Ossmann | Foreword Magazine | Archive: Foreword This Week | 07.23.03 | Independent Anniversaries of Note | 30 Years-Alice James Books, Farmington, ME]
External links
- [https://fourwaybooks.com/site/4419-2/ FOUR WAY BOOKS | AUTHOR PAGE | April Ossmann]
- [https://www.interimpoetics.org/37-2/april-ossmann POEMS | Interim | Vol. 37, Issue 2 | April Ossmann]
- [http://laurelreview.org/issues/toc/491/april-ossmann-event-boundaries POEM | The Laurel Review Vol. 49, Issue 1 April Ossmann “Event Boundaries”]
- [https://www.libraryjournal.com/review/event-boundaries BOOK REVIEW | Library Journal | 04/01/2017 | Event Boundaries Reviewed by Karla Huston]
- [https://www.pw.org/content/thinking_like_an_editor_how_to_order_your_poetry_manuscript_0 ESSAY in Poets & Writers | Thinking Like an Editor: How to Order Your Poetry Manuscript | by April Ossmann | 02/28/2011]
{{Portal bar|Biography}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ossmann, April}}
Category:Writers from Santa Barbara, California
Category:Vermont College of Fine Arts alumni
Category:Dartmouth College alumni
Category:American publishers (people)
Category:American book editors
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:University of Maine at Farmington faculty
Category:American women academics