Born in Staten Island, New York, Norman R. Nelsen graduated from Princeton University with an AB degree in International Affairs and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in June 1958. Commissioned as an Ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve, he served aboard the aircraft carrier, USS Yorktown. Recipient of a Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship, he did post-graduate work in International Politics at Yale University.

Pursuing a 30 year career in international marketing/management took Norman six continents and over 40 countries. A distinguished Member of the International Society of Poets, his poem “A Pet Cemetery” received Honorable Mention in Washington, D.C. at the ISP convention, August 1997. For twenty years, he has resided in the blessed early 1700’s village of Basking Ridge, NJ.

On August 24, 2004, Norman R. Nelsen was named Poet Laureate for Bernards Township.

Click here to view some of Norman Nelsen’s poems.