15 Facts About Sharon Olds

Sharon Olds was born on November 19,1942 and is an American poet.

Sharon Olds teaches creative writing at New York University and is a previous director of the Creative Writing Program at NYU.

Sharon Olds was born on November 19,1942, in San Francisco, California, but was brought up in Berkeley, California, along with her siblings.

Sharon Olds was raised as a "hellfire Calvinist," as she describes it.

Sharon Olds's father, like his before him, was an alcoholic who was often abusive to his children.

In Sharon Olds' writing she often refers to the time when her father tied her to a chair.

Sharon Olds' mother was often either unable or too afraid to come to the aid of her children.

The strict religious environment in which Sharon Olds was raised had certain rules of censorship and restriction.

Sharon Olds was not permitted to go to the movies and the family did not own a television, but her reading was not censored.

Sharon Olds liked fairy tales, and read Nancy Drew and Life magazine.

Sharon Olds was sent east to Dana Hall School, an all-girls school for grades 6 to 12 in Wellesley, Massachusetts, that boasts an impressive list of alumnae.

Sharon Olds wrote her doctoral dissertation on "Emerson's Prosody," because she appreciated the way he defied convention.

Sharon Olds eventually published her first collection, Satan Says, in 1980, at the age of 37.

Sharon Olds's poetry has been translated into seven languages for international publications.

Sharon Olds is the first American woman to win this award.