Cairns is the author of twelve collections of poetry, one collection of translations/adaptations of Christian mystics, one spiritual memoir (now translated into Greek and Romanian), a book-length essay on suffering (now translated into Greek), and co-edited The Sacred Place with Scott Olsen, an anthology of poetry, fiction and nonfiction. It won the inaugural National Outdoor Book Award (Outdoor Literature category) in 1997. He wrote the libretto for "The Martyrdom of Saint Polycarp", an oratorio composed by JAC Redford, and the libretto for "A Melancholy Beauty", an oratorio composed by Georgi Andreev. Cairns's poems have appeared in journals including The Atlantic Monthly, The Paris Review, The New Republic, Image, and Poetry, and have been anthologized in Upholding Mystery (Oxford University Press, 1996), Best Spiritual Writing (Harper Collins, 1998 and 2000), and Best American Spiritual Writing (Houghton Mifflin, 2004, 2005, and 2006).
Family
He is married to Marcia Lane Vanderlip and they have two children, Benjamin V. Cairns and Elizabeth V. Cairns-Callen. He has a brother, Steve Cairns, who currently resides in Hong Kong, teaching at an International School.
Finding the Broken Man (Poetry Chapbook: Window Press, 1982)
General references (biographical)
A Directory of American Poets and Fiction Writers, editions 1985 through 2002, New York: Poets & Writers
Biography Index, A cumulative index to biographical material in books and magazines; Volume 28: September 2002 — August 2003, New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 2003
Contemporary Authors, A bio-bibliographical guide to current writers in fiction, general nonfiction, poetry, journalism, drama, motion pictures, television, and other fields; Volume 146, Detroit: Gale Research, 1995
Contemporary Authors, New Revision Series. A bio-bibliographical guide to current writers in fiction, general nonfiction, poetry, journalism, drama, motion pictures, television, and other fields; Volume 91, Detroit: Gale Group, 2000
The Writers Directory, editions 13 through 23 (1998–2007), Detroit: St. James Press, 1999
Who's Who in the South and Southwest; 23rd edition, 1993–1994, New Providence, NJ: Marquis Who's Who, 1993
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