Richard Jones

Portrait of Richard Jones
Richard Jones 1953–
1953Born

Richard Jones is an American poet. He was born in London, England, received his B.A. and M.A. from the University of Virginia and an M.F.A. from Vermont College of Fine Arts. He is the author of eight books of poetry, most recently Stranger on Earth (Copper Canyon Press, 2018), as well as a number of limited edition volumes. His first book, Country of Air, won the Posner Award in 1986. The Blessing: New and Selected Poems, a selection of poems from six of his books, received the Midland Authors Award for Poetry for 2000. He is also the editor of the critical anthology Poetry and Politics (William Morrow and Company, 1985). In 2000, he published a compact disc, Body and Soul, in which he discusses the art of poetry. In 2011, he published Thunder on the Mountain (East of Eden Press), a nonfiction book that explores the relationship between poetry and painting. He is editor of the literary journal Poetry East and its many anthologies, including The Last Believer in Words and Bliss. He is currently professor of English at DePaul University in Chicago, where he has taught since 1987. He lives north of Chicago with his wife and three children.

From readers

What readers say about Richard Jones

  1. On Sacrifices

    “I quite enjoy this man's poetry, but I still can't find any sort of rhyme scheme to it. Actually, that's a problem I'm running into a bit. I don't know if it's just the way I'm reading it or what.”

  2. On The Road

    “I love your poem "Rest" and am committing it to memory...Long ago did the same with James Wright's "A Blessing" and so got a great tickling laugh from your wonderful send up of "road poems". Good work! jp”

Where readers gather

Most discussed

  1. How Did You Meet Your Wife?1 comment
  2. Sacrifices1 comment
  3. The Road1 comment

All 6 poems

The Blessing · 2000 · 6 poems