David Chura

Author's Bio

My writing of both poetry and creative nonfiction often comes from my many years working with people on the margins of society. I am most interested in character and narrative, using language that is lively and evocative to bring to life the people I've encountered. I have worked with "at risk" teenagers for over 26 years, teaching literature and writing. My book, "I Don't Wish Nobody to Have a Life Like Mine: Tales of Kids in Adult Lockup" (Beacon Press, Mar. 2010)tells the stories of many of the teens I met while teaching in a county jail for the last ten years.

Publications and Prizes

Books:

I Don't Wish Nobody to Have a Life Like Mine: Tales of Kids in Adult Lockup (Beacon Press, 2010)

Anthologies:

Beloved on Earth (Holy Cow! Press, 2009), The Blueline Anthology (Syracuse University Press, 2004), Essential Love (Grayson Books, 2000), Queer Dharma (Gay Sunshine Press, 1998)

Journals:

Adirondack Review, Blueline, Connecticut River Review, Contemporary Justice Review, Earth's Daughters, Embers, English Journal, Fourth Genre, Many Mountains Moving, Turning Wheel

Personal Favorites

Favorite Books:

A Death in the Family by James Agee; Little Dorrit by Dickens; The Time of Our Singing by Richard Powers

Favorite Authors:

Dickens, Trollop, Woolf, Agee, Updike, Chabon, Murakami, Powers, Whitman, Doty, Gary Snyder, Akhmatova, Roykan

Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Listing last updated: November 28, 2009

More Information

Listed as:

Creative Nonfiction Writer, Poet

Gives readings?

Yes

Travels for readings?

Yes

Identifies as:

Caucasian

Prefers to work with:

At Risk Youth, Teenagers

Fluent in:

English

Born in:

Troy, NY

Raised in:

Watervliet, NY

Agent:

Jon Sternfeld

Reviews, Recordings, and Interviews