Dr. Middleton is a native of Shreveport and long-time resident of Thibodaux. He served on the faculty of English at Nicholls for 33 years, including as head of that department. He was the university’s first poet-in-residence and retired from faculty in 2010 as professor emeritus and poet-in-residence emeritus.
Over the course of those years, and continuing through those years beyond the classroom, David has remained tireless and true to the craft, not only in his own writing but also selflessly supporting the art of his students at Nicholls and his fellow English poets across the U.S. The titles of his books of poetry include evocative Louisiana imagery, such as Beyond the Chandeleurs and the Fiddler of Driskill Hill. His first full-length collection, The Burning Fields, was named after the traditional sugar cane practices of the local grinding season surrounding his adopted home here in Lafourche Parish.
His full-length collections of poetry include:
The Burning Fields (LSU Press, 1991)
Beyond the Chandeleurs (LSU Press 1999)
The Habitual Peacefulness of Gruchy: Poems After Pictures by Jean-François Millet (LSU Press, 2005)
The Fiddler of Driskill Hill (LSU Press, 2013)
His latest full-length collection of poems, Outside the Gates of Eden, was published in 2024 by Measure Press. In 2005, his collected poems will be published by Texas University Press.
READ: “On the Eve of Jubilee: Fifty Years of Rhyming in Louisiana” by David Middleton (2024)
READ: “The Spiritual Terrain of David Middleton” by James Matthew Wilson (2024)
