About

RICHARD CHESS is the author of four books of poetry, Love Nailed to the Doorpost (University of Tampa Press 2017, Tekiah (University of Georgia Press 1996; republished by University of Tampa Press 2000); Chair in the Desert (University of Tampa Press 2000); and Third Temple (University of Tampa Press 2006). His poems have appeared in Best American Spiritual Writing 2005, Telling and Remembering: A Century of American Jewish Poetry, and The Bloomsbury Anthology of Contemporary American Jewish Poetry. 

He is Professor Emeritus at UNC Asheville, where for more than three decades he taught courses in English/Creative Writing and Jewish Studies. In the last decade of his career, he was a leader of UNC Asheville’s Contemplative Inquiry Initiative. He integrated a range of contemplative practices into his courses, including courses on Poetry as a Spiritual Practice and Spiritual Autobiographies. For ten years, he was active in the Center for Contemplative Mind’s Association for the Contemplative Mind in Higher Education. He directed UNC Asheville’s Center for Jewish Studies for 30 years. He currently serves on the boards of Yetzirah: A Heart for Jewish Poetry and Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center.

For many years, he has been interested in the role of arts in spiritual life and spiritual life in the arts. In 2016, he was a lead organizer of Faith in Lit: A Festival of Contemporary Writers of the Spirit. In 2021, he helped organize the Faith in Arts Institute, a project co-sponsored by UNC Asheville and Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center. The Faith in Arts Institute is an ongoing project. Information, including videos of performances, conversations, and other materials can be found on the BMCM+AC website.