Denise Duhamel

Denise Duhamel was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, in 1961. She received a BFA degree from Emerson College and an MFA degree from Sarah Lawrence College.

Duhamel is the author of numerous collections of poetry, including: Blowout (University of Pittsburgh, 2013); Ka-Ching! (University of Pittsburgh, 2009); and Queen for a Day: Selected and New Poems (University of Pittsburgh, 2001). Her other books are Queen for a Day: Selected and New Poems (University of Pittsburgh, 2001); The Star-Spangled Banner, winner of the Crab Orchard Poetry Prize (Southern Iliinois University Press, 1999); Kinky (Orchises Press, 1997); Girl Soldier (Garden Street Press, 1996); and How the Sky Fell (Pearl Editions, 1996). Duhamel has also collaborated with the poet Maureen Seaton on several volumes: Beautiful People (SMU Project Poëtica, 2024); Caprise: Collected, Uncollected, & New Collaborations (Sibling Rivalry Press, 2015); Little Novels (Pearl Editions, 2002); and Exquisite Politics (Tia Chucha Press, 1997).

In response to Duhamel’s collection 1993 Smile! (Warm Spring Press), Edward Field says, “More than any other poet I know, Denise Duhamel, for all the witty, polished surface of her poems, communicates the ache of human existence.”

Duhamel has received grants and awards from numerous organizations, including a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. She served as the guest editor of The Best American Poetry 2013. She teaches creative writing and literature at Florida International University and lives in Hollywood, Florida.