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Clysle Julius (C.J.) Stevens (born in Smithfield, Maine, on December 8, 1927) is a writer. He has published 19 books, including poetry, short stories, non-fiction, and biography, been published in hundreds of magazines, and the United States Library of Congress contains a special collection of his works.

In 1998, the Portland Press Herald described him as "versatile and charismatic". Stevens has translated from other languages as well, including Dutch and Flemish.

Biography

Early life

Stevens, the son of Earl Wade and Leonora May (Witham) Stevens, had his first poem published at age 13 in the Waterville Morning Sentinel, a Maine newspaper. As a young man he signed up for the U.S. Army immediately after Pearl Harbor. Afterward, he earned a B.S in 1953 from Connecticut State Teachers College (now Central Connecticut State College).

Writing career

The United States Library of Congress contains a special collection of Stevens' works. Stevens has published over 30 books, including poetry, short stories, non-fiction, and biography. He said he submitted his poems "haphazardly" over the years to publishers, and he has been a contributor to The Nation, Prairie Schooner, New Mexico Quarterly, The Literary Review, Etc, West Coast Review, and other publications. By 1990, his poems and stories had also been published in 400 magazines, and more than 50 anthologies and texts.

He and his wife began prospecting in about 1970, and found gold in more than 30 rivers. When his book The Next Bend in the River: Gold Mining in Maine was published in 1989, many readers of his book were amazed to learn that gold nuggets can be found by panning certain rivers. He also wrote the related 2005 book, Memoirs of a Maine Gold Hunter.

The Supernatural Side of Maine. He is writing a combination of biography and novel.

Career outside writing

Over his lifetime, Stevens has had many jobs: as a Professor at The University of Wisconsin (who retired from the University to write and lecture), farmer, deliveryman, selectman, and assistant manager at Carvel Hall, an Annapolis landmark. Stevens lived overseas for five years, two of those in the Netherlands, moving approximately every six months to countries including Ireland, England, Portugal, and Malta.

He has always liked images, and this pushed him to be a poet and a writer. His love of images led to a second career in painting; and along with his writing, he is working on a photographer's portfolio. His biographies and other non-fiction are unusual, in that in all cases he has either had access to the subject himself or to someone intimate with the subject–a wife, friend, lover, or mother.

In addition, Stevens has lectured extensively. He has lived in Phillips, Maine, in Weld, Maine, in Temple, Maine, and in South Carolina with his Dutch wife Stella Rachel (née Taschlisky) Stevens, whom he married on June 13, 1954.

Works

Poetry

• Loose Stones: First Poems, Hitchcock Press, 1954, under the name Clysle Stevens
• Climbs of Uncertainty, New Athenaeum Press, 1961, under the name John Stevens Wade
• Northeast, Hammond Press, 1963, under the name John Stevens Wade
• Two from Where it Snows, Northeast Chapbook Series, 1964, with John Judson, under the name John Stevens Wade
• Drowning in The Dark, The Group, 1965, under the name John Stevens Wade
• Small World, The Group, 1965, under the name John Stevens Wade
• Gallery: Drawings by Tom Ricciardi, Poet & Printer, 1969, under the name John Stevens Wade
• The Backhouse, Funch Press, 1971, under the name John Stevens Wade
• The Cats in the Colosseum, Crossing Press, 1972, ISBN 0912278234, under the name John Stevens Wade
• Well Water and Daisies, Northeast/Juniper Books, 1974, ISBN 155780012X, under the name John Stevens Wade
• Each to His Own Ground, Juniper Press, 1976, ISBN 1557800537, under the name John Stevens Wade
• Some of My Best Friends Are Trees, Sparrow Press, 1978, under the name John Stevens Wade
• Homecoming, Icarus Press, 1979, under the name John Stevens Wade
• Up North, Juniper Press, 1980, ISBN 1557800618 under the name John Stevens Wade
• The Uncertain Cartographer: selected poems of CJ Stevens, Oracle Press, 1981
• Borderland Traveller: Poems, Oracle Press, 1985, ISBN 0881270385
• Beginnings and Other Poems, J. Wade, 1989, ISBN 0962393436
• Circling at the Chain's Length, J. Wade, 1991, ISBN 0962393444
• Hang-Ups: poems J. Wade, 1993, ISBN 1882425014
• Selected Poems, J. Wade, 1995, ISBN 1882425049
• Shepherd without Sheep, John Wade, 2001, ISBN 1882425154
• Collected Poems, John Wade, 2002, ISBN 1882425197

Stories

• The Folks from Greeley's Mill and other Maine Stories, J. Wade, 1992, ISBN 0962393487
• Confessions: New and Selected Stories, John Wade, 1998, ISBN 1882425103

Biographies

• The Cornish Nightmare (D. H. Lawrence in Cornwall), Whitston Pub. Co., 1988, ISBN 0878753486, D.H. Lawrence and the war years
• Lawrence at Tregerthen (D. H. Lawrence), Whitston Pub. Co., 1988, ISBN 0878753486
• Storyteller: A Life of Erskine Caldwell, John Wade, 2000, ISBN 1882425111
• The Miracle of Bryan Pearce, John Wade, 2004, ISBN 1882425200, brain-damaged boy who became nationally acclaimed artist

Other non-fiction

• The Next Bend in the River: Gold Mining in Maine, John Wade, 1989, ISBN 0962393401, about gold in Maine
• One Day with a Goat Herd, J. Wade, 1992, ISBN 0962393460, about goat herding
• Maine Mining Adventures, John Wade, 1994, ISBN 1882425030
• The Buried Treasures of Maine, J. Wade, 1997, ISBN 188242509X
• The Supernatural Side of Maine, John Wade Pub, 2002, ISBN 1882425162, out-of-body experiences, witches, haunted houses, alien abductions, and people from Maine who faced the supernatural
• Memoirs of a Maine Gold Hunter, John Wade, 2005, ISBN 1882425227, panning for gold and searching for treasure

Translations

• Poems from the Lowlands, Small Pond, 1967, translator from the Dutch and Flemish, under the name John Stevens Wade
• Thirty-One New Poets, Schreiber (editor), Hill & Wang Pub, 1968, ISBN 0809000903
• Waterland: A Gathering from Holland, Holmgangers Press, 1977, translator from the Dutch under the name John Stevens Wade
• From the Flemish of Gaston Burssens, Arts End Books, 1982, ISBN 0933292112, translator under the name John Stevens Wade
• One Score-And-Two Years of Uncommon Fanfare, John Edward Westburg (editor), Westburg Asso Pub, 1986, ISBN 0874230403
• Poems from Holland and Belgium, John Wade, 1999, ISBN 1882425138, collected and translated by Stevens

In others' works

Poetry

• 28 Poems, Sumac Press, 1966, under the name John Stevens Wade
• Flowering after Frost: the anthology of contemporary New England poetry, Michael McMahon (editor), Branden Books, 1975, ISBN 0828315477, under the name John Stevens Wade
• Talking animals, Charley Davey (editor), Juniper Press, 1978, under the name John Stevens Wade
• So many heads, so many wits, Janet Sobieski, Wolfgang Mieder (editors), Dept. of German and Russian, University of Vermont, 2005, ISBN 0977073106, under the name John Stevens Wade
• The Art of Bicycling: A Treasury of Poems, Justin Daniel Belmont (editor), Breakaway Books, 2005, ISBN 1891369563

References

1. ^ "CJ Stevens (1927- ); Genre: Short Stories, Non-Fiction, Poetry", Waterboro Public Library. Retrieved on July 10, 2010.
2. ^ "Thrill of Gold Mining is in the Hunt, says Author", Sun Journal, June 4, 1990. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
3. ^ Stanley McNail (1972). The Galley Sail Review. AMS Press. Retrieved July 10, 2010.
4. ^ The Art of Bicycling: A Treasury of Poems. Justin Daniel Belmont (editor). Breakaway Books, 2005, ISBN 1891369563. Retrieved on July 10, 2010.
5. "C.J. Stevens'`Buried Treasures'; Mines Fertile Fields in Maine". Portland Press Herald. February 15, 1998. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
6. ^ Curt Johnson (May 29, 2008). Who's Who in U.S. Writers, Editors & Poets. December Press. ISBN 0913204218. Retrieved July 10, 2010. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
7. Mary Biggs (April 1, 2008). A Gift that Cannot be Refused: the Writing and Publishing of Contemporary American Poetry. Greenwood Press. ISBN 031326673. Retrieved July 10, 2010. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: length (help); Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
8. Discourse: a Review of the Liberal Arts. Concordia College. 1967. Retrieved July 10, 2010.
9. "C.J. Stevens' New Book on Nearly Two Centuries of Maine Mining a Real Gem". Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel. September 25, 1994. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
10. "Nugget of truth in 'them thar Maine hills'; Persistence can pay off when panning for golf in the Swift River valley". Bangor Daily News. September 2, 1995. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
11. "Farmington, Maine; Bustling retreat nestled in forest". Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN). December 22, 1996. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
12. "TV Show to Focus on Hedgehog Hill", Sun Journal, October 27, 1989. Retrieved July 10, 2010.
13. "Of Treasure & Trash". The New York Sun. July 14, 2006. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
14. Dana Wilde (January 20, 2003). "Weird facts of Maine cataloged". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
15. "Retired Professor Pans for Gold in Maine", Sun Journal, October 21, 2989
16. Resurgence. Books.google.com. Retrieved July 10, 2010.
17. "Author to Talk on Gold Mining", Sun Journal, May 28, 1990, accessed July 10, 2010
18. Lisa Price, "Voices for Blind Focuses on Maine Authors", Sun Journal, September 7, 1995
19. Wolfgang Mieder (1987). Tradition and Innovation in Folk Literature. University Press of New England. ISBN 0874513871. Retrieved July 10, 2010.
20. Ole. Tucson Citizen. Retrieved July 10, 2010.

External links

• Publisher

• 1927 births
• American poets
• Living people
• Writers from Maine
• American short story writers
• American non-fiction writers
• American biographers
• Writers from South Carolina
• Central Connecticut State University alumni