Collection Items
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BiographyConrad AikenU.S. Consultant in Poetry, 1950-1952Conrad Aiken (1889-1973) was born in Savannah, Georgia. A poet, fiction writer, and essayist, Aiken published 33 collections of poetry. In 1924, Aiken edited Emily Dickinson’s Selected Poems, the first English edition… -
BiographyA. R. Ammons1994 Bobbitt Prize WinnerA. R. Ammons was born near Whiteville, North Carolina, in 1926. He published 29 poetry collections, including Garbage (1993), which received the National Book Award and the Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize… -
BiographyJohn Ashbery John Ashbery (credit: Lynn Davis) John Ashbery was born in Rochester, New York, in 1927. He is the author of more than 20 poetry collections, including Some Trees (1956), winner of the… -
BiographyMargaret Atwood Margaret Atwood credit Jean Malek Margaret Atwood was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada in 1939. She is the author of fourteen novels, including The Handmaid’s Tale (1985), The Robber Bride (1993), and… -
BiographyKofi Awoonor Kofi Awoonor Kofi Awoonor was born George Awoonor-Williams in Wheta, Ghana, in 1935. In addition to translating poetry from the local Ewe dialect, Awoonor wrote and published novels, plays, political essays, literary… -
BiographyJames Baldwin James Baldwin James Baldwin was born in Harlem in 1924. Baldwin’s many novels include his debut, Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953), considered an American classic. He was also a poet… -
BiographyFrank Bidart1998 Bobbitt Prize WinnerFrank Bidart was born in Bakersfield, California, in 1939. He is the author of several poetry collections, including Half-Light: Collected Poems 1965-2016 (2017), which won the National Book Award for Poetry and… -
BiographyElizabeth BishopU.S. Consultant in Poetry, 1949-1950Elizabeth Bishop (1911-1979) was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. She was the author of nine poetry collections. She also published several books of prose, and edited and translated multiple volumes. Bishop served as… -
BiographyRobert Bly Robert Bly (2001; credit: Anna Arthur) Robert Bly was born in Madison, Minnesota in 1926. A poet, translator and social theorist, Bly has published more than 30 collections of poetry, including The… -
BiographyLouise BoganU.S. Consultant in Poetry, 1945-1946Louise Bogan (1897-1970) was born in Livermore Falls, Maine. She authored six poetry collections. She was a visiting professor at the University of Washington, Seattle; the University of Chicago; the University of… -
BiographyArna Wendell Bontemps Arna Wendell Bontemps Arna Wendell Bontemps was born in Alexandria, Louisiana, in 1902. A poet, novelist, and librarian, Bontemps was active in the Harlem Renaissance. His best-known works include the novel God… -
BiographyRay Bradbury Ray Bradbury (credit: Don Congdon Associates) Ray Bradbury was born in Waukegan, Illinois in 1920. In addition to writing twenty-seven novels, including Fahrenheit 451 (1953), and over 600 short stories, some of… -
BiographyJoseph BrodskyU.S. Poet Laureate, 1991-1992Joseph Brodsky (1940-1996) was born in Leningrad (present-day St. Petersburg), Russia. He taught at Mount Holyoke College and Columbia, Yale, and Cambridge Universities, and was co-founder of the American Poetry & Literacy… -
BiographyGwendolyn BrooksU.S. Consultant in Poetry, 1985-1986Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000) was born in Topeka, Kansas, in 1917. She was the author of more than 20 poetry collections. Brooks taught creative writing at Columbia College Chicago, Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago… -
BiographySterling Allen Brown Sterling Allen Brown. Courtesy of the Sterling A. Brown Papers, Williams College Archives & Special Collections. Sterling Allen Brown was born in Washington, D.C., in 1901. He is the author of three… -
BiographyVincent Buckley Vincent Buckley Vincent Buckley was born in Romsey, Victoria, Australia in 1925. He was the author of eleven poetry collections, including Masters in Israel (1961), which won the Australian Literature Society Gold… -
BiographyLorna Dee Cervantes Lorna Dee Cervantes Lorna Dee Cervantes was born in San Francisco, California, in 1954. She is the author of five poetry collections, including Emplumada (1981), Ciento: 100 100-Word Love Poems (2011), and,… -
BiographyJohn Cheever John Cheever (credit: Nancy Crampton) John Cheever, also known as “the Chekhov of the suburbs,” was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1912. He is the author of 10 short story collections, including… -
BiographySandra Cisneros Sandra Cisneros is a poet, short story writer, novelist and essayist whose work explores the lives of the working class. Her numerous awards include National Endowment for the Arts fellowships in both… -
BiographyAmy Clampitt Amy ClampittAmy Clampitt was born in New Providence, Iowa in 1920. She is the author of nine poetry collections, including The Kingfisher (1983), What the Light Was Like (1985), and The Collected… -
BiographyLucille Clifton Lucille Clifton Lucille Clifton was born in Depew, New York, in 1936. She is the author of 13 poetry collections, including Good Times (1969), Two-Headed Woman (1980), and Blessing the Boats: New… -
BiographyJ.V. Cunningham J. V. Cunningham (credit: Thomas Victor) J. V. Cunningham was born in Cumberland, Maryland, in 1911. He is the author of nine poetry collections, including The Helmsman (1942), The Exclusions of a… -
BiographyJames DickeyU.S. Consultant in Poetry, 1966-1968James Dickey (1923-1997) was born in Buckhead, Georgia. He was the author of more than 25 poetry collections. Among his honors were a fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation and the Order of… -
BiographyDeborah Digges Deborah Digges (credit: Star Black) Deborah Digges was born in Jefferson City, Missouri, in 1950. She is the author of five collections of poetry, including Vesper Sparrows (1986), winner of the Delmore… -
BiographyOwen Dodson Owen Dodson Owen Dodson was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1914. He is the author of three poetry collections: Powerful Long Ladder (1940), The Confession Stone: Song Cycles (1970), and The… -
BiographyMark Doty Mark Doty was born in Maryville, Tennessee in 1953. He is the author of eight poetry collections, including My Alexandria (1993), winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award and Britain’s T.… -
BiographyRita DoveU.S. Poet Laureate, 1993-19952022 Bobbitt Prize WinnerRita Dove was born in Akron, Ohio, in 1952. She is the author of 11 collections of poetry, most recently “Playlist from the Apocalypse: Poems” (2021). Since 1989, Dove has taught at… -
BiographyRobert Edward Duncan Robert Edward Duncan Robert Edward Duncan was born in Oakland, California in 1919. He is the author of over 30 poetry collections, including The Opening of the Field (1960), Roots and Branches… -
BiographyRichard EberhartU.S. Consultant in Poetry, 1959-1961Richard Eberhart (1905-2005) was born in Austin, Minnesota, in 1905. He published more than 30 poetry collections. A member of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Academy… -
BiographyDavid Ferry2000 Bobbitt Prize WinnerDavid Ferry was born in Orange, New Jersey, in 1924. He is the author of eight poetry collections, including Bewilderment: New Poems and Translations (2012), winner of the National Book Award; and… -
BiographyRobert FitzgeraldU.S. Consultant in Poetry, 1984-1985Robert Fitzgerald (1910-1985) was born in Springfield, Illinois. He was the author of four poetry collections. Fitzgerald was the Boylston Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory at Harvard University from 1965-1981, and served… -
BiographyRobert FrostU.S. Consultant in Poetry, 1958-1959Robert Frost (1874-1963) was born in San Francisco, California. Frost published more than 30 collections of poetry. He was invited to read at the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy in 1961.… -
BiographyAlice Fulton2002 Bobbitt Prize WinnerAlice Fulton was born in Troy, New York, in 1952. She is the author of eight books of poetry, including Barely Composed (2015); Cascade Experiment: Selected Poems (2004); and Felt (2001), winner… -
BiographyJack Gilbert Jack Gilbert Jack Gilbert was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1925. He published eight poetry collections, including Views of Jeopardy (1962), winner of the Yale Younger Poets Series; Monolithos (1982), winner of… -
BiographyAllen Ginsberg Allen Ginsberg was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1926. He is the author of more than 40 poetry collections, including Howl and Other Poems (1956); Planet News (1968); and The Fall… -
BiographyLouise GlückSpecial Bicentennial Consultant, 1999-20001992 Bobbitt Prize WinnerLouise Glück was born in New York City in 1943. She is the author of numerous poetry collections, including Faithful and Virtuous Night (2014), which won the National Book Award, and The… -
BiographyJorie Graham2018 Bobbitt Prize WinnerJorie Graham was born in New York City in 1950, and raised in Italy and France. She is the author of numerous collections of poetry, including Fast (2017), winner of the Rebekah… -
BiographyBarbara Guest Barbara Guest (credit: Judy Dater)Barbara Guest was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, in 1920. She is the author of 18 poetry collections, including The Location of Things (1960); Fair Realism (1988), winner… -
BiographyDonald HallU.S. Poet Laureate, 2006-2007Donald Hall (1928-2018) was born in Hamden, Connecticut. He published more than 20 poetry collections. He also wrote four biographies, three plays, more than 10 children’s books and short stories, and six… -
BiographyDaniel Halpern Daniel Halpern (credit: Mary Cross) Daniel Halpern was born in Syracuse, New York, in 1945. He is the author of nine collections of poetry, including Tango (1987), Selected Poems (1994), and Something… -
BiographyRobert HassU.S. Poet Laureate, 1995-1997Robert Hass was born in San Francisco, California in 1941. He is the author of nine poetry collections. Hass served as a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets from 2001 to… -
BiographyRobert HaydenU.S. Consultant in Poetry, 1976-1978Robert Hayden (1913-1980) was born in Detroit, Michigan. He published nine collections of poetry. Hayden was appointed Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1976, the first African American to… -
BiographyAnthony HechtU.S. Consultant in Poetry, 1982-1984Anthony Hecht (1923-2004) was born in New York City in 1923. He was the author of eight poetry collections. Hecht taught at the University of Rochester from 1967-1985, as well as at… -
BiographyEdward Hirsch Edward Hirsch (credit: Michael Lionstar) Edward Hirsch was born in Chicago in 1950. He is the author of nine poetry collections, including For the Sleepwalkers (1981), winner of the Lavan Younger Poets… -
BiographyDaniel HoffmanU.S. Consultant in Poetry, 1973-1974Daniel Hoffman (1923-2013) was born in New York. He served as the 22nd Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1973 to 1974. Hoffman published nine books of poetry. He…