Chard deNiord

Richard Newnham "Chard" deNiord III is an American poet, author, and teacher. He is the author of nine poetry collections, two books of interviews with contemporary poets, and a collection of essays on contemporary poetry. He won a Pushcart Prize, was a Poetry Fellow at the Sewanee Writers' Conference, and was Poet Laureate of Vermont 2015–2019. He is a professor emeritus of English and creative writing at Providence College, where he taught 1998–2020.

Early life and education DeNiord was born on December 17, 1952, in New Haven, Connecticut. He was raised in Lynchburg, Virginia, where he attended Lynchburg College, earning a BA in religious studies. He later received a Master of Divinity from Yale Divinity School, and a Master of Fine Arts from the Iowa Writers' Workshop.

Career DeNiord was a teacher at The Putney School in Putney, Vermont (1989–1998). He currently is a Professor Emeritus at Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island where he was professor of English and Creative Writing (1998–2020). He also was director (2001–2008) of the low residency program Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing at New England College which he co-founded with Gerald Stern and Jacqueline Gens.

DeNiord is the author of nine poetry collections: Asleep in the Fire (U.of Alabama, 1990), Sharp Golden Thorn (U. of Pittsburgh, 2003), Night Mowing (U. of Pittsburgh, 2005), The Double Truth (U. of Pittsburgh, 2011), Speaking In Turn (NOMON Press, 2011; a collaboration with Tony Sanders), Interstate (U. of Pittsburgh, 2015), In My Unknowing (U. of Pittsburgh, 2020), One As Other (Green Writers Press, 2024), and Westminster West (Tupolo Press, 2025).

He also wrote two collections of interviews with poets and one collection of essays on contemporary poetry. Sad Friends, Drowned Lovers, Stapled Songs (Marick Press, 2011) is a collection of interviews with seven eminent American poets: Robert Bly, Lucille Clifton, Jack Gilbert, Donald Hall, Galway Kinnell, Maxine Kumin, and Ruth Stone. He was executive producer of Nora Jacobson's 2021 documentary Ruth Stone's Vast Library of the Female Mind.

In 2015, DeNiord was named the Poet Laureate of Vermont and served for four years. In 2022, he was named a Fellow of Vermont's Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has been a board member at the Sundog Poetry Center and essay editor at Plume Poetry Journal.