Steve Orlen papers

Steve Orlen (1942-2010) was an American poet and professor at the University of Arizona. He grew up in Holyoke, Massachusetts and attended the University of Massachusetts Amhers where he received his BA in English. Orlen then attended the Iowa Writers' Workship where he earned his MFA in Creative Writing.

His poetry is largely made up of free verse poems that focus on a narrative approach. Orlen published six volumes of poetry, including The Elephant's Child: New and Selected Poems 1978-2005 (2006), which was a PEN International Award finalist. Other noted collections include This Particular Eternity (2001), Permission to Speak (1978), and A Thousand Threads (2009), a chapbook.

Orlen was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1999 and was awarded three National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships during his career. He was also awarded Poetry Magazine's George Dillon Memorial Award. During his time in Arizona, he was awarded an Arizona Commisson on the Arts grant.

He lived in Tucson with his wife, painter Gail Marcus-Orlen, while working as a professor at the University of Arizona. His notable contribution to the University of Arizona includes co-founding the creative writing MFA program. He also helped co-found the same program at Warren Wilson College. He also served as a visiting faculty member at the University of Houston, Warren Wilson College, Goddard College, and the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference throughout his career. He taught at the University of Arizona for 37 years where he earned the nickname "Dr. Softy." Orlen passed away on November 16, 2010 after a brief struggle with cancer.