University Times

Dore Kiesselbach is the winner of the 2011 Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize for his collection “Salt Pier.”

Established in 1981, the Starrett prize, named for the University of Pittsburgh Press’s first director, carries a $5,000 award and publication in the Press’s poetry series.

The Minneapolis author’s manuscript was selected from more than 630 entries. Ed Ochester, Pitt Poetry Series editor, judged the entries.

“Winning the prize is a personal continental divide,” said Kiesselbach, 47. “It establishes a new before and a new after. It makes me glad for my obstinacy and grateful to those who helped me indulge it.”

Kiesselbach described “Salt Pier” as “a zygote’s-eye view of the universe, a compendium of processes, a dog-eared family recipe for primordial soup.”

Kiesselbach studied English and creative writing at Oberlin and at the University of Iowa, where he held a U.S. Department of Education Javits fellowship.

He has published widely in magazines such as the Antioch Review and New Letters. In 2009, Kiesselbach won Britain’s Bridport Prize for his poem “Non-invasive” and was a finalist for the Starrett Prize.