David Trinidad

Background

David Trinidad was born on July 20, 1953, in Los Angeles, California, United States. He is a son of Rupert Trinidad and Joyce Trinidad.

Education

In 1979, David received a Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University, Northridge, where he studied poetry with Ann Stanford and edited the literary journal Angel's Flight. Besides, while at Northridge, David became friends with the poet Rachel Sherwood. Later, in 1990, Trinidad attained a Master of Fine Arts degree from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York.

Career

In the early 1980's, David became a member of a group of poets, who were active at the Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center in Venice, California. This group also included Bob Flanagan, Dennis Cooper, Amy Gerstler, Jack Skelley and Ed Smith, whose works he published, when he was an editor at Sherwood Press, which he established in Rachel Sherwood's honor. Rachel was David's friend and poet, who was killed in an automobile accident on July 5, 1979, in which David was also involved.

It was in 1988, that David settled down in New York City and began teaching at The New School. In 1996, he was made a member of the core faculty for Master of Fine Arts degree writing program at The New School for Social Research. The same year, in 1996, David was appointed an instructor at Rutgers University.

In 2002, David left for Chicago and began teaching at Columbia College Chicago, where he also established the literary journal Court Green.

As for David's writing career, his first book of poems, "Pavane", was published in 1981. His other works include "Monday, Monday" (1985), "Living Doll" (1986), "Three Stories" (1988), "Hand Over Heart: Poems 1981-1988" (1991), "Answer Song" (1994), "Plasticville" (2000), "Tiny Moon Notebook" (2007), "Dear Prudence: New and Selected Poems" (2011), "Notes on a Past Life" (2016), "Swinging on a Star" (2017), "Coteries and Gossip: Naropa Diary, June 13-20, 2010" (2019), among others.

Besides, during his career, Trinidad has edited several volumes of poetry, including "Powerless: Selected Poems 1973-1990" (1996) by Tim Dlugos, "Holding Our Own: The Selected Poems of Ann Stanford" (2001) with Maxine Scates, "Saints of Hysteria: A Half-Century of Collaborative American Poetry" (2007) with Denise Duhamel and Maureen Seaton, "A Fast Life: The Collected Poems of Tim Dlugos" (2011), "Punk Rock Is Cool for the End of the World: Poems and Notebooks of Ed Smith" (2019) and "Divining Poets: Dickinson (2019).

Currently, David continues to teach at Columbia College Chicago, where he holds the post of a professor of Poetry in the English and Creative Writing Department.

Achievements

• David Trinidad is a well-known author of numerous poetry collections, including "Peyton Place: A Haiku Soap Opera" (2013), "Notes on a Past Life" (2016), "Swinging on a Star"(2017), among others. He gained prominence for his masterful use of popular culture in his poems.
  
  In 1991, David's work "Hand Over Heart" was nominated for the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry. In 2000, his "Plasticville" was nominated for the same award. In 2007, he attained the New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship. Moreover, Trinidad edited the work, titled "A Fast Life: The Collected Poems of Tim Dlugos" and authored by Tim Dlugos, which won the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry in 2011.
  
  Also, David's work, "Pasticville" was a finalist for the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Answer Song

    (This book represents poetry and prose, that combine exper...)

    1994
  • Swinging on a Star

    (This two-part collection looks at mortality, celebrity, p...)

    2017
  • Descent of the Dolls: Part One

    (Dante's "Inferno" meets the 1967 movie "Valley of the Dol...)

    2017
  • By Myself: An Autobiography

    (This work represents a daring collaborative celebrity aut...)

    2009
  • Powerless: Selected Poems 1973-1990

    (Authored by Tim Dlugos and edited by David Trinidad.)

    1996
  • A Fast Life: The Collected Poems of Tim Dlugos

    (Authored by Tim Dlugos and edited by David Trinidad.)

    2011
  • Pavane 1981
  • Monday, Monday 1985
  • November 1986
  • Three Stories 1988
  • Hand over Heart: Poems 1981-1988 1991
  • Plasticville 2000
  • Tiny Moon Notebook 2007
  • The Late Show: Poems 2007
  • Dear Prudence: New and Selected Poems 2011
  • Peyton Place: A Haiku Soap Opera 2013
  • Notes on a Past Life 2016
  • A Taste Of Honey 1990
  • Phoebe 2002: An Essay in Verse 2003

Views

David's work is intimate, filled with confessional outpourings, while drawing on sparkling references to television, Hollywood and kitsch.

Membership

David is a member of PEN America (formerly PEN American Center).

Personality

Quotes from others about the person

• "Trinidad turns the paste jewels of pop art into the real thing." - James Schuyler, a poet
  
  "There is an unwavering light in all of Trinidad's work, that turns individual words into objects, new facts." - Alice Notley, a poet

Connections

Father:

Rupert Trinidad

Mother:

Joyce Trinidad

mentor:

Ann Stanford

David studied poetry with Ann Stanford at California State University, Northridge.

Friend:

Rachel Sherwood

Rachel Sherwood (January 4, 1954 - July 5, 1979) was an American poet and David's friend, whom he met at California State University, Northridge. On July 5, 1979, Sherwood and Trinidad were involved in an automobile accident, in which Sherwood was killed and Trinidad severely injured.