Doug Van Gundy (born 12 March 1966 in Elkins, West Virginia) is an American writer, poet, writer and teacher.[2][3] He is known for his poetry collection A Life Above Water, which was published by Red Hen Press in 2007.[4][5]

Doug Van Gundy
Born (1966-03-12) March 12, 1966 (age 58)
Occupations
  • Poet
  • teacher
  • writer
Notable workA Life Above Water (2007)[1]

In August 1999, Van Gundy was a contestant of ABC's Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and became the first contestant to win $250,000 on the show.[6][7]

Early life and education edit

Van Gundy is a graduate of Goddard College, where he received his degree as a Master of Fine Arts. Doug has been a visiting poet at Middle Tennessee State University, Lynchburg College, Randolph Macon College, Barton College, Coastal Carolina University, and Davis & Elkins College. He was an associate artist at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. His music has also been featured on National Public Radio's Mountain Stage.

Career edit

Gundy has written poetry and essays appearing in the Oxford American, The Guardian, Ecotone, Poems & Plays and The Louisville Review. He is the co-editor of Eyes Glowing at the Edge of the Woods: Contemporary Writing from West Virginia, published by Vandalia Press.[8]

Selected publications edit

Collections edit

  • A Life Above Water: Poems (Red Hen Press, 2007) ISBN 9781597094313
  • Eyes Glowing at the Edge of the Woods: Fiction and Poetry (West Virginia University Press, 2017) ISBN 9781943665563

Prose/ poetry edit

  • When the Rain Came[9]
  • A fierce desire to stay: looking at West Virginia through its people's eyes[10]

References edit

  1. ^ "Doug Van Gundy". Red Hen Press. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Ecotone | Authors". Archived from the original on 2012-04-23. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  3. ^ "Doug". Archived from the original on 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  4. ^ "Doug Van Gundy - Poetry". ConnotationPress.com. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
  5. ^ "West Virginia Wesleyan College". Archived from the original on 2012-04-06. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  6. ^ Bill Carter (16 August 2019). "TV Producer Michael Davies bet his career on 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire' 20 years ago and won big". CNN Business. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  7. ^ "Cash for questions". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 February 2024. It has also benefited from some first-week luck. On the fifth day of filming, 33-year-old Doug van Gundy from West Virginia - a professional fiddler, a poet, a man who earns $11,000 (£7,000) a year, who just got married, for godsake - correctly identified Nome as the finishing line for the annual Iditarod dogsled race. This was no minor achievement
  8. ^ Elizabeth Flock (2 May 2017). "Returning home, these West Virginians are rewriting the poetry of Appalachia". PBS. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  9. ^ Gundy, Doug Van (2023-05-01). "When the Rain Came". Guernica. Retrieved 2024-04-22.
  10. ^ "A fierce desire to stay: looking at West Virginia through its people's eyes". The Guardian. 2019-05-07. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-04-22.

External links edit