Doug Van Gundy (born 12 March 1966 in Elkins, West Virginia) is an American writer, poet, writer and teacher.[2][3] He is known for his poetry collection A Life Above Water, which was published by Red Hen Press in 2007.[4][5]
Doug Van Gundy
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| Born | (1966-03-12) March 12, 1966 (age 58)
Lewistown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
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| Notable work | A Life Above Water (2007)[1] |
In August 1999, Van Gundy was a contestant of ABC's Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and became the first contestant to win $250,000 on the show.[6][7]
Van Gundy is a graduate of Goddard College, where he received his degree as a Master of Fine Arts. Doug has been a visiting poet at Middle Tennessee State University, Lynchburg College, Randolph Macon College, Barton College, Coastal Carolina University, and Davis & Elkins College. He was an associate artist at the Atlantic Center for the ArtsinNew Smyrna Beach, Florida. His music has also been featured on National Public Radio's Mountain Stage.
Gundy has written poetry and essays appearing in the Oxford American, The Guardian, Ecotone, Poems & Plays and The Louisville Review. He is the co-editor of Eyes Glowing at the Edge of the Woods: Contemporary Writing from West Virginia, published by Vandalia Press.[8]
It has also benefited from some first-week luck. On the fifth day of filming, 33-year-old Doug van Gundy from West Virginia - a professional fiddler, a poet, a man who earns $11,000 (£7,000) a year, who just got married, for godsake - correctly identified Nome as the finishing line for the annual Iditarod dogsled race. This was no minor achievement