She was a dear person — a restless traveler as well as an intrepid thinker, devoted to her dogs, friends, and students — and a remarkable poet. She published six books of poetry, which to a rare degree, constitute a coherent body of work: Wave House (2023), Skeleton Coast (2017), Life (2014), Effacement (2010), Civilization (2006), and The Reef (1999). Arnold earned her PhD in English at the University of Chicago, where she worked for Chicago Review. Researching the poet Mina Loy for her dissertation, she discovered the poet’s lost novel, Insel, which she edited for Black Sparrow Press in 1991. Arnold taught in the MFA program at the University of Maryland before retiring and moving to Frostburg, Maryland, where she found a community of friends.We at Flood Editions were honored to work with her for nearly twenty years. She will be greatly missed.
Arnold was a guest of host Leonard Schwartz on episode #124 of his KAOS-FM program, Cross Cultural Poetics. Arnold's segment takes up the majority of the January 7, 2007 program, entitled "Civilization" after the collection she read from and discussed. Click here to listen to the show.
