Ben Howard
Encyclopedia
Ben W. Howard is an American poet, essayist, and critic. He is the author of eight books, including a collection of essays on Zen practice, five collections of poems, a verse novella, and a critical study of modern Irish
writing. For the past three decades he has contributed poems, essays, and reviews to leading journals in America and abroad, including Poetry, Shenandoah
, Poetry Ireland Review
, Agenda, and the Sewanee Review
. He is Emeritus Professor of English and Emeritus Professor for the Performing Arts at Alfred University
, where he offers private lessons in classical guitar and an Honors course in Buddhist meditation
. He also conducts the Falling Leaf Sangha, a Zen
practice group for students and the community. "One Time, One Meeting," his bi-weekly column on aspects of Zen practice, may be found at www.practiceofzen.wordpress.com.
Reviewing Dark Pool, Howard’s fifth collection of poems, for Booklist, Ray Olson notes that Howard "writes just about the most natural, musical iambic line around these days, primarily in a propulsive, precise, and vocal blank verse but also in sonnets, quatrains, and unrhymed forms. It’s as seductive of the inner ear as Irish storytelling is of the outer, gently drawing attention to large, subtle meanings."
Reviewing Midcentury for Irish Echo, Michael Stephens remarks that Howard’s verse is "elegant, elegiac, casual yet moving,” and he likens the structure of the book to “a great symphony, the kind that, moment to moment, is intimate, and yet its overall reach is almost beyond human grasp."
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
writing. For the past three decades he has contributed poems, essays, and reviews to leading journals in America and abroad, including Poetry, Shenandoah
Shenandoah (magazine)
Shenandoah: The Washington and Lee Review is a major literary magazine published by Washington and Lee University.- History :Originally a student-run quarterly, Shenandoah has evolved into a triannual literary journal edited by author R. T...
, Poetry Ireland Review
Poetry Ireland Review
Poetry Ireland Review is a journal of Irish poetry published quarterly by Poetry Ireland, the national Irish poetry organization.Poetry Ireland Review publishes the work of both emerging and established Irish and international poets. In line with keeping the journal fresh, vibrant and progressive...
, Agenda, and the Sewanee Review
Sewanee Review
The Sewanee Review is a literary journal established in 1892 and the oldest continuously published periodical of its kind in the United States. It incorporates original fiction and poetry, as well as essays, reviews, and literary criticism...
. He is Emeritus Professor of English and Emeritus Professor for the Performing Arts at Alfred University
Alfred University
Alfred University is a small, comprehensive university in the Village of Alfred in Western New York, USA, an hour and a half south of Rochester and two hours southeast of Buffalo. Alfred has an undergraduate population of around 2,000, and approximately 300 graduate students...
, where he offers private lessons in classical guitar and an Honors course in Buddhist meditation
Buddhist meditation
Buddhist meditation refers to the meditative practices associated with the religion and philosophy of Buddhism.Core meditation techniques have been preserved in ancient Buddhist texts and have proliferated and diversified through teacher-student transmissions. Buddhists pursue meditation as part of...
. He also conducts the Falling Leaf Sangha, a Zen
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
practice group for students and the community. "One Time, One Meeting," his bi-weekly column on aspects of Zen practice, may be found at www.practiceofzen.wordpress.com.
Reviews
In his review of Leaf, Sunlight, Asphalt, Howard's most recent collection of poems, Ray Olson observes that the author "manages iambs as well as anyone since Christopher Marlowe. . . . Few other contemporary poets make ordinary living seem as rich and rewarding." (Booklist, 35, January 1 & 15, 2010).Reviewing Dark Pool, Howard’s fifth collection of poems, for Booklist, Ray Olson notes that Howard "writes just about the most natural, musical iambic line around these days, primarily in a propulsive, precise, and vocal blank verse but also in sonnets, quatrains, and unrhymed forms. It’s as seductive of the inner ear as Irish storytelling is of the outer, gently drawing attention to large, subtle meanings."
Reviewing Midcentury for Irish Echo, Michael Stephens remarks that Howard’s verse is "elegant, elegiac, casual yet moving,” and he likens the structure of the book to “a great symphony, the kind that, moment to moment, is intimate, and yet its overall reach is almost beyond human grasp."
Awards
- NEA Fellowship in Creative Writing
- Milton Dorfman Prize in Poetry
- Theodore Christian Hoepfner Award
External links
- Alfred University : College of Liberal Arts and Sciences : Performing Arts : Faculty Profiles : Ben Howard
- National Resources Defense Council Podcast of Ben Howard reading his poem "Irondequoit, Oswego, Canisteo"
- http://preview.poetryfoundation.org/search/?q=ben+howard