Marilyn Krysl

Marilyn Krysl was born on February 26, 1942, in Anthony, Kansas. At thirteen, her family moved to Eugene, Oregon, where she attended high school and won the Oregon Award for Creativity for her poetry, providing a full tuition scholarship to the University of Oregon. During her time at the university, Krysl won additional prizes for her work in poetry, short fiction, and the essay. She subsequently earned an MFA from the University of Oregon.

Krysl authored eight collections of poetry, including Swear the Burning Vow: Selected and New Poems (Ghost Road Press, 2009) and Warscape with Lovers (Cleveland State University Poetry Center, 1997), winner of the Cleveland State Poetry Prize in 1997. 

Krysl’s short story collection Dinner with Osama (University of Notre Dame Press, 2008) won the 2008 Richard T. Sullivan Award in Short Fiction from the University of Notre Dame. She was the recipient of two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts as well as the Karen Chamberlain Award for Lifetime Achievement in Colorado Poetry from the Telluride Institute.

In 1975, Krysl cofounded the University of Colorado’s creative writing program and later served as its director. She died on July 4, 2024, in Boulder.