Poetry Path: Dorianne Laux

Dorianne Laux was born in 1952 in Augusta, Maine. Laux has published ten volumes of poetry, most recently writing Only As The Day Is Long (W.W. Norton, 2019), which was a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry. Her work has been recognized for its sensuality and appreciation of everyday life; her accolades include the Pushcart Prize and The Paterson Prize for The Book of Men (W.W. Norton, 2011). She currently teaches in the MFA program at North Carolina State University.

Photos by Daniel Terna.

Dorianne Laux, excerpt from “Life is Beautiful” from Smoke. Copyright © 2000 by Dorianne Laux. Used with the permission of The Permissions Company, LLC on behalf of BOA Editions, Ltd., www.boaeditions.org.

The Poetry Path is made possible through a partnership with Battery Park City Authority, partners in design and fabrication of the Poetry Path, with additional support from our Outreach Partner, Goldman Sachs. Special thanks to the Arthur F. and Alice E. Adams Foundation for funding the Poetry Path planning process, and to the Marcia Brady Tucker Foundation for supporting Poetry Path educational initiatives for youth and children.