Jon Pineda

Jon Pineda (born Charleston, South Carolina) is an American poet, memoirist, and novelist.

Life

Jon Pineda was raised in Chesapeake, Virginia. He graduated from James Madison University and Virginia Commonwealth University.

His work has appeared in Poetry Northwest, The Literary Review, Sou'wester, Prairie Schooner,^[1] Many Mountains Moving, Asian Pacific American Journal, Puerto del Sol, and elsewhere.

He is the author of the novel Apology, winner of the 2013 Milkweed National Fiction Prize. His memoir Sleep in Me was a 2010 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection. His poetry collections include The Translator's Diary, winner of the 2007 Green Prize for Poetry from New Issues Press, and Birthmark, first place winner in the 2003 Crab Orchard Series in Poetry Open Competition Awards.

He currently teaches in the low-residency MFA program at Queens University of Charlotte^[2] and is a member of the creative writing faculty at the University of Mary Washington.

Awards

• 2013 Milkweed National Fiction Prize
• 2010 Barnes & Noble "Discover Great New Writers" Selection
• 2007 Green Rose Prize from New Issues Press
• 2003 Crab Orchard Award
• Fellowship, Virginia Commission for the Arts Individual Artist

Books

• Apology. Milkweed Editions. 2013. ISBN 978-1571311047. 
• Sleep in Me. University of Nebraska Press. 2010. ISBN 978-0-8032-2535-0. 
• The Translator's Diary. New Issues Press. 2008. ISBN 978-1-930974-75-3. 
• Birthmark. Southern Illinois University Press. 2004. ISBN 978-0-8093-2570-2. 

Individual Works

• "My Sister, Who Died Young, Takes Up the Task", Fishouse

Anthologies

• Victoria M. Chang, ed. (2004). "Shelter". Asian American poetry: the next generation. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-07174-4. 
• M. Evelina Galang, Eileen Tabios, ed. (2003). Screaming monkeys: critiques of Asian American images. Coffee House Press. ISBN 978-1-56689-141-7. 

Reviews

Pineda is never obvious, cloying or clichéd, and the intensely felt personal material never overshadows the artist's attention to effects of sound, rhythm, and the nuances of line in this remarkable poetry. His book is a brave and beautiful one. Confronting his personal past with exquisite forms and lines, he shows us that art can help us survive, and master, the chaos of experience.^[3]

[Pineda's] muted, lyrical messages, to be savored at length, remind us of the value of listening deeply, to ourselves and others.^[4]

This hauntingly poetic first novel about mistakes, love, and sacrifice... Reminiscent of Alessandro Baricco's SILK, this novel will appeal to lovers of literary fiction.^[5]

Incessant editing is something that comes from Pineda’s poetry background. So too is the way he tells the story—in a long line of tiny, imagistic scenes that often focus attention on small things going on in the background. The resultant prose is tight and stretched over the lean frame of a book weighing in at just under 200 pages. But those pages pack a punch.^[6]

References

External links

• "Author's website"
• "Jon Pineda Q&A on his favorite writing time", Fishouse
• "Jon Pineda", Kate Greenstreet, First Book Interiews