David Russell Wagoner was born on June 5, 1926 in Massillon, Ohio. He received his B.A. from Pennsylvania State University where he also was a member of the Naval ROTC. Wagoner went on to get his M.A. in English from Indiana University in 1949. Poet Theodore Roethke became a mentor and friend to Wagoner after Wagoner took a poetry workshop from him. At Roethke’s urging, Wagoner moved to Seattle and began teaching at the University of Washington in 1954. A passionate teacher, Wagoner continued in the English Department until 2002 when he segued into emeritus status.

Wagoner has also been a prolific writer, publishing more than 20 volumes of poetry, nature being his predominant subject. He came to be recognized as a leading poet in the Northwest. Aside from poetry, Wagoner also wrote numerous novels including The Escape Artist which was made into a movie in 1982.

Throughout his career, Wagoner has won many awards including a nomination for the National Book Award, winning the Pushcart Prize twice, American Academy of Arts and Letters award, Sherwood Anderson Foundation Fiction Award, the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, and many more. In addition, Wagoner won multiple fellowships including from the Guggenheim Foundation for fiction, Ford Foundation, and the National Endowment of the Arts.