Matthew Nienow

Matthew Nienow was born in Los Angeles and spent most of his youth in Seattle. He earned an MFA from the University of Washington and a degree in Traditional Small Craft from the Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building. His first full-length collection of poetry is House of Water (2016). His work has appeared in Beloit Poetry Journal, New England Review, Poetry, the Best New Poets anthology (2007 and 2012), and in three chapbooks.

Nienow has received awards and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, the Elizabeth George Foundation, Artist Trust, and many other organizations. He was awarded a Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship in 2013. He lives with his wife and two sons in Port Townsend, Washington where he makes his living building boats and custom wooden paddle boards.