JEN BERVIN
Poet and visual artist Jen Bervin's books include The Desert (Granary Books 2008), A Non- Breaking Space (Ugly Duckling 2005), Nets (UDP 2004) and Under What Is Not Under (Potes & Poets 2001). Her interdisciplinary work has been featured most recently in Esopus and Double Change. Bervin's large-scale sewn composites of Dickinson's fascicle marks and other works have been exhibited in the US, Canada, and France. She has received fellowships in art and writing from the New York Foundation for the Arts, The MacDowell Colony, Centrum Arts, and The Camargo Foundation in Cassis, France. She is a contributing editor for jubilat and lives in New York.
RECENT SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2008
"History Room: Jen Bervin and Matt Bakkom," The Soap Factory, Minneapolis, MN
"Mend," Proteus Gowanus, Brooklyn, NY
"New Works on Handmade Paper,"
Dieu
Donné Benefit Auction Exhibition, New York, NY
"Less is More: The Poetics of Erasure"
Simon Fraser University Gallery, BC, Canada
2007
"Jen Bervin: New Work," Broad Street Gallery, Athens, GA
“Narrative Thread,” Donna Seager Gallery in San Rafael, CA
Group show curated by Macy Chadwick with works by Mare Blocker, Jennifer Brook, Allison Cooke Brown, Macy Chadwick, Margot Ecke, Julianna Foster, Lisa Hasegawa, Jennie Hinchcliff, Charles Hobson, Kathleen McNutt Hart, Lindsey Mears, Katie Murken, Tara O'Brien, Phuong Pham, Kaycie Roberts, Britt Stadig, Beata Wehr, Elysa Voshell and Jen Bervin.
"Viewing MacDowell: Works by Recent MacDowell Colony Artists," Sharon Arts Center, Peterborough, NH. Group show curated by Rachel Garceau. Artists include Bobby Neel Adams, Jen Bervin, John Bisbee, Emily Brown, Fritz Buehner, Lisa Dahl, Lilian Garcia-Roig, Lucy Hodgson, Cassie Jones, Eva Lee, Megan McLarney, Matthew Northridge, Joanne Pasila, and Lisa Robinson.
"Library," Proteus Gowanus, Brooklyn, NY.
Group Show curated by Sasha
Chavchavadze. Exhibit and program participants include: The Brooklyn Museum
Library, The Brooklyn Historical Society, The Prelinger Library, Reanimation
Library, The Encyclopedia Project, Cabinet Magazine, Bomb Magazine, The
Kentler International Drawing Space Satellite Flatfile of Prints, Place
in History, Recrossing Brookyn Ferry, Ugly Duckling Presse, Purgatory
Pie Press, the Institute For Figuring, Temporary Services, J & L Books,
The New York Public Library’s Donnell Media Center, The Artistsbook Library
(curated by Maddy Rosenberg), The Museum of Matches Project, “Library
Correspondents” Wendy Walker and Tom LaFarge, artists Jenny Bevill, Beatrice
Coron, Nick Defriez, David Eustace, Harrell Fletcher, Leslie Fry, David
Gatten, Nina Katchadourian, Jeanne Liotta, Jeffrey Schiff, Christina Schesinger,
Mayann Pearl, Anna Poor, Chris Piazza, Tracy Priest, Robert The, Mary
Ting, Alexandra Walcott, Mikki Watanabe, Julia Weist, Barbara Yoshida,
James Walsh, Jen Bervin, Christopher Warrington, and others.
"Iteration," NurtureArt Gallery, Brooklyn, NY.
Group show curated by
Natalie Campbell with Sally Alatalo, Jen Bervin, Carissa Carman, Melanie
Chopko, Brian Clifton, Maureen Cummins, Francois Deschamps, Chip Duyck,
Harrell Fletcher, Dick Higgins, May Jong, Samantha Lautman, Gareth Long,
Layla Lozano, Shana Lutker, Carlo McCormick (& co), Graham McDougal, P.
Marcel Moore, Morning Star Press (Alec Finlay), Simon Morris, Heidi Neilson,
Michalis Pichler, James Prez, Dan Rose-Mary Lydecker-and-Dana Carroll,
Nick Thurston, Liz Zanis, and Paul Zelevansky.
2006
"The Dickinson Composites," The Camargo Foundation, Cassis, France
"Five Visual Poets," The Wright Exhibition Space, Seattle, WA.
Group
show curated by Wave Books with Joshua Beckman, Jen Bervin, Mary Ruefle, Robert Seyel,
and Nico Vassilakis.
"Many Happy Returns," High Energy Constructs, Los Angeles,
CA.
Group show curated by Michael Smoler with Joe Brainard, Fran Herndon, George Schneeman, Ted Berrigan, Anne Waldman,
Ed Bowes, Jen Bervin, Will Yackulic, Derek Fenner, Juliacks, Ryan Gallagher,
Jack Greene, August Highland, Tanya Hollis, Colter Jacobsen, Donal Mosher,
Zoe Crosher, Jane Dalrymple Hollo, Christopher Russell, Granary Books,
Thomas Evans, Lisa Jarnot, David Larsen, Jen Hofer and Deborah Stratman,
Marcus Civin, and others.
"The Way We Live Now," CU Art Museum, University of
Colorado at Boulder, CO.
Group show curated by Lisa Tamiris Becker, with
Damien Hirst, Howard Hodgkin and Susan Sontag, Chuck Close, Octavio Paz
and Gunther Gerzso, Agnes Denes, Richard Tuttle, Andrea Zittell, Chris
Ware, Peter Wegner, Hamish Fulton, Laylah Ali, Walasse Ting, Guerrilla
Girls, Barbara Kruger, Ida Applebroog, Richard Long, Lars Arrhenius, Laylah
Ali, Jen Bervin, and others.
2005
"Joshua Beckman and Jen Bervin," Word & Image Gallery, Bright Hill Art Center, Treadwell, NY
2004
"And Could I Further 'No'?" The Nest, Brooklyn, NY
"What's in a Book?" New Langton Arts, San Francisco, CA.
Group
show curated by Summi Kaipa. Artists' books by Jody Alexander,
Tauba Auerbach, Micah Ballard, Devendra Banhart, Jen Bervin, Mary Burger,
Hannah Cox, Amanda Davidson, Ellie Ga, Jennie Hinchliff, Jo Jackson, Sara
Jaffe, Marisa Jahn, Darren Klein, David Larsen, Pang Lim, Kirthi Nath,
Nikki Thompson, Patricia Wakida with Garret Izumi, Marcia Weisbrot, Liz
Worthy, Will Yackulic, and John Yau with Archie Rand.
2001
"Pictures of the Passing Word," Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder,
CO.
Group show curated by Michael Smoler with Linda Foster Leonhard, Anselm Hollo, Keith Waldrop, George Schneeman, Jen Bervin, Jane Dalrymple Hollo, Tony Perniciaro, and Anne Waldman.
PUBLICATIONS & EDITIONS: POETRY / ARTIST BOOKS
The Desert, Granary Books, 2008.
A Non- Breaking Space. Brooklyn: Ugly Duckling Presse, web only, 2005.
The Red Box, 2005.
Nets. Brooklyn: Ugly Duckling Presse, 2004. Fourth Printing.
Button Sestina, 2003.
Under What Is Not Under. Bridgeport, CT: Potes & Poets Press, 2000.
Florward, 2000.
Juniper Caesura, 1999.
Anchor-hold, 1999.
Comb Poems, 1999.
Under What Is Not Under, 1997.
ARTIST BOOK COLLECTIONS
Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale University
Harvard University Library
The J. Paul Getty Museum
The Joan Flasch Artists' Book Collection, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago
John Hay Special Collections Library, Brown University
Library of Congress
Mandeville Special Collections Library, University of California, San Diego
Mobilelivre Bookmobile Project
The New York Public Library
The Polly and Mark Addison Collection, CU Art Museum
Stanford University
Universtiy of Iowa
Walker Art Center
GRANTS, FELLOWSHIPS AND HONORS
New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in Poetry, 2007
Camargo Foundation Visual Arts Fellowship, Fall 2006
MacDowell Colony Fellowship, Summer 2006
Finalist for Creative Capital Grant in Innovative Writing, 2006
Mellon Grant (Dickinson Research, Harvard University), Pratt Institute, 2005
Centrum Arts Residency, Winter 2004
The Center for Book Arts, Fine Printing and Letterpress Workshop Fellowship, 2003
Academy of American Poets, Edward M. Lannan Prize, 2000
Colorado Fellowship (University of Denver), 1999
Presidential Merit Scholar (The School of the Art Institute of Chicago), 1994-1996
READINGS AND TALKS
2008
Jen Bervin, Steve Healey and William Waltz, The Soap Factory, Minneapolis, MN
NYU Creative Writing Program, Writers in New York, Jen Bervin and Nick Flynn
Jen Bervin, Robert Fitterman, and Nayland Blake, sponsored by NYFA Artists & Audiences Exchange, Proteus Gowanus, and The Reanimation Library, Brooklyn, NY
New Voices, The Center for Book Arts with Jen Bervin, Bronwyn Carlton, Marie Carter, Paolo Javier, Evan Kennedy, Ryan Murphy and Kyle Schlesinger. Curated by Jeremy James Thompson, New York, NY
2007
Our Emily Dickinson: A 21st Century Response by Artists and Writers with Jen Bervin, Susan Howe, Eliot Weinberger & Brenda Wineapple, event co-sponsored by Poet's House, New Directions and the Tribeca Performing Arts Center, New York, NY
University of Georgia, Athens, GA
Nexus Art Gallery with Naima Lowe and Douglas Kearney, Philadelphia, PA
Four Forms, Fusebox Festival performances with Chris Cogburn, Joshua Beckman, Maria Chavez, and Scott Heron, Austin, TX
NurtureArt Gallery reading with Sally Alatalo, Heidi Neilson, and Douglas Rice, Brooklyn
"A Specific Grace: Emily Dickinson," Society for Textual Scholarship Conference, New York, NY
Observable Readings with Jenn Chapis, Jen Robinson, Jennifer MacKenzie, Jen Coleman, Jen Woods, Jen Scappettone, Jen Gaby, Jen Hofer, Jen Lyons, and Jenny Mueller, St. Louis, MO
Readings Between A & B with Catherine Bowman and Debora Kuan, New York, NY
2006
L'École Polytechnique, Paris, France
Double Change with Anna Moschovakis, Jérôme Mauche, and Vincent Broqua, Paris, France
Wave Books Poetry Bus Tour with Joshua Beckman, Matthew Zapruder, Juliana Spahr, Joshua Clover, Stephanie Young, Elizabeth Willis, Anna Moschovakis, Matvei Yankelevich, Chris Fishbach, Jen Hofer, Deborah Landau, Matthew Rohrer, Eleni Sikelieanos, Christian Hawkey, Maggie Nelson, Martha Ronk, Anthony McCann, Joe Wenderoth, Noelle Kocot, Cole Heinowitz, Will Alexander, Standard Schaeffer, Elizabeth Black, Eileen Myles, Lori Shine, Travis Nichols, Lisa Fishman, and Richard Meier. Phoenix, AZ; , James Turrell's Roden Crater, AZ; New York, New York Casino in Las Vegas, NV; Museum of Natural History and Machine Project in Los Angeles, CA.
Poetry Society of America, “A Celebration of Innovative NYC Poetry Presses,”with Eugene Ostashevsky, Sarah Manguso, Anthony McCann, Jo Ann Wasserman, Jason Schneiderman, Sasha Steensen, and Michael Ives, New York, NY
Jubilat/Jones Library Reading Series with Terrance Hayes, Amherst, MA
Links Hall Festival, “An Incomplete Map of Everything,” with Christian Bök, Kenneth Goldsmith, Björn Ross, Matthew Goulish, Terry Kapsalis, Jesse Seldess, Lilli Carré, Petrova Gibberson, Lou Mallozzi, and others, Chicago, IL
University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK
PrattLIT Reading Series, Brooklyn, NY
Alula Poetry Reading Series with Pattie McCarthy and Corina Copp, New York, NY
2005
The Henry Art Gallery, Poetry in the Skyspace with Joshua Beckman, Matthew Rohrer, and Dorothea Lasky, Seattle, WA
Segue Foundation Reading Series with Cole Swensen, New York, NY
Zieher-Smith Gallery (Swerve Release) with Bethany Wright, Sarah Manguso, and Matthew Zapruder, New York, NY
Bowery Poetry Club with Mónica de la Torre, Rob Fitterman, Bob Holman, and Matvei Yankelevitch, New York, NY
Wells College Visiting Writers Series, Aurora, NY
Word & Image Gallery with Joshua Beckman, Treadwell, NY
Pratt Institute Faculty Reading with Samantha Hunt, Christian Hawkey, Joshua Furst, Sarah Manguso, Lisa Selin Davis, and Gina Zucker, Brooklyn, NY
Baruch College, New York, NY
2004
The Poetry Project at St. Mark’s Church Reading Series with Paul Killebrew, New York, NY
A Taste of Art Reading Series with G.E. Patterson, Frances Richard, and Lewis Warsh, New York, NY
Women Center Stage Festival with Jackie Sheeler, Ishle Park, Uchechi Kalu, Katrina Rodabaugh, Vanessa Filey, and Sandy Jimenez, New York, NY
Dixon Place, Experiments & Disorders Reading Series with Sarah Ruhl, New York, NY
Rotunda Gallery Reading Series, “Reduce/Reuse/Reexamine” with Jane Avril, Langhorne Slim, and John Ventimiglia, Brooklyn, NY
Sundays at Sunny’s Reading Series with Mark Costello and Amanda Stern, Brooklyn, NY
Ugly Duckling Presse at The Nest with Greg Ford, Brooklyn, NY
Queens College, City University of New York, Queens, NY
PUBLICATIONS: CRITICAL WRITING
Helen Mirra, Sky-Wreck. Essays by Jen Bervin and Hamza Walker, fiction by Ben Marcus. The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago, 2002.
Independent reviews for Rain Taxi and Bookforum.
INTERVIEWS AND FEATURES
Kareem Estefan, Jen Bervin on Ceptuetics archived on PennSound (2008)
Susan Brennan, Jen Bervin on Radio Poetique archived on PennSound (2004)
Ray Bianchi, “Poetic Profile: Jen Bervin” Chicago Postmodern Poetry (2004)
Cole Swensen, “Acts of Retrieval: Jen Bervin's Recombinant Poems” How2 (2000)
ARTICLES AND REVIEWS
The Believer 3:9 (November 2005). The Lost Symphony (Paul Collins)
American Letters and Commentary 26:2 (Jan/Feb 2005). The Sonnets of William Shakespeare (Jocelyn Emerson)
Indiana Review (Summer 2005). The Collaboration and Collage Issue. (Jennifer Scaife)
Traffic Small Press Traffic Newsletter, 2005. (Jane Sprague)
Chicago Postmodern Poetry (June 2005). Interview with Jen Bervin. (Ray Bianchi)
Double Room 5 (Winter/Spring 2005). "Roses no such roses": Jen Bervin's Nets and the Sonnet Tradition from Shakespeare to the Postmoderns (Digital Essay by W. Scott Howard)
Chicago Postmodern Poetry (Fall 2004). (Ray Bianchi)
Aufgabe 4 (Fall 2004). The SonNETS of William Shakespeare by Jen Bervin (Christine Hume)
Frontlist Books Seminary Coop Bookstore, University of Chicago (Summer 2004).
Rain Taxi 34 9:2 (Summer 2004). (Noah Eli Gordon)
The Village Voice (May 28, 2004). The Connections: A Selective History of Instant Inspiration. (Ed Park)
Jacket 25 (February 2004). Phillip Metres reviews Nets by Jen Bervin (Philip Metres)
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
New York University (New York, NY), School of Continuing and Professional Studies, Lecturer in Poetry, 2002-present
Pratt Institute (Brooklyn, NY): Visiting Assistant Professor, Writing for Publication, Performance & Media, Creative Writing BFA Program, Thesis Advisor; Writing Studio Core Faculty; WPPM Internship Coordinator, 2004-2006; Friday Forum Reading Series Director, 2003-2006; Pratt Institute Writing Across the Curriculum Faculty Workshop Presenter, 2005-2006
Poets' House (New York, NY), "Collaborations," Spring 2007
University of Denver (Denver, CO), English Department. Visiting Lecturer, Creative Writing, 2000; Instructor, First-Year English 1999-2001
Little City Foundation (Palatine, IL) Instructor, “Multi-Disciplinary Studio Workshop” for Emerging Artists with Developmental Differences, 1996
VISITING ARTIST
Visiting Poet, The Packer School (Brooklyn, NY), Spring 2008
Guest Critic, The New School (New York, NY), Parsons Design + Technology MFA Thesis Review, Spring 2007
Visiting Artist, University of Georgia (Athens, GA); Guest Critic, Printmaking MFA Program; Visiting Poet, English Department MFA Program, Spring 2007
Visiting Artist, Joan Flasch Artists' Book Collection, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago Writing Program (Chicago, IL), Spring 2006
Visiting Poet, The Graduate Program in English and Creative Writing, The University of Tulsa (Tulsa, OK), Spring 2006
Guest Critic, Painting and Drawing BFA Thesis Critiques, Fine Arts Department, Pratt Institute (Brooklyn, NY), Spring 2006
Visiting Artist, Wells College Book Arts Center, Visiting Poet, English Department, Wells College (Aurora, NY), Spring 2005
Guest Critic, Architecture Department, Pratt Institute (Brooklyn, NY), Fall 2005
Visiting Poet, Baruch High School (New York, NY), Fall 2005
Visiting Poet, English Department, Queens College, City University of New York, (Queens, NY), Spring 2004
EDUCATION
The University of Denver, M.A. 2001 Poetry
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, B.F.A. 1996 Studio Art
Macalester College / Charles University, Prague 1990-1992
