Ben Lerner
Encyclopedia
Benjamin S. Lerner is an American
poet
, novelist, and critic. He was awarded the Hayden Carruth prize
for his cycle of fifty-two sonnets, The Lichtenberg Figures. In 2004, Library Journal
named it one of the year's twelve best books of poetry. The Lichtenberg Figures appeared in a German translation in 2010, for which it received the "Preis der Stadt Münster für internationale Poesie" in 2011, making Lerner the first American to receive this honor.
Born and raised in Topeka, which figures in each of his books of poetry, Lerner is a 1997 graduate of Topeka High School
. At Brown University
he earned a B.A.
in Political Theory and an MFA
in Poetry. He traveled on a Fulbright Scholarship to Madrid
, Spain
in 2003 where he wrote his second book, Angle of Yaw
, which was published in 2006 and was subsequently named a finalist for the National Book Award
, and was selected by Brian Foley as one of the "25 important books of poetry of the 00s (2000-2009)". Lerner's third full-length poetry collection, Mean Free Path, was published in 2010. Lerner's first novel, Leaving the Atocha Station, was published by Coffee House Press in August 2011. It was named one of the best books of the year by The Guardian and The New Statesman, among other periodicals.
In 2008 he began editing poetry for Critical Quarterly, a British academic publication. Lerner has taught at California College of the Arts
, the University of Pittsburgh
, and in 2010 joined the faculty of the MFA program at Brooklyn College
.
Lerner's mother is the well-known psychologist Harriet Lerner
.
Other
Critical pieces, retrospectives, etc.
Angle of Yaw
Mean Free Path
Leaving The Atocha Station
Other
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, novelist, and critic. He was awarded the Hayden Carruth prize
Hayden Carruth
Hayden Carruth was an American poet and literary critic. He taught at Syracuse University.-Life:Hayden Carruth grew up in Woodbury, Connecticut, and was educated at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and at the University of Chicago. He lived in Johnson, Vermont for many years...
for his cycle of fifty-two sonnets, The Lichtenberg Figures. In 2004, Library Journal
Library Journal
Library Journal is a trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey . It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional practice...
named it one of the year's twelve best books of poetry. The Lichtenberg Figures appeared in a German translation in 2010, for which it received the "Preis der Stadt Münster für internationale Poesie" in 2011, making Lerner the first American to receive this honor.
Born and raised in Topeka, which figures in each of his books of poetry, Lerner is a 1997 graduate of Topeka High School
Topeka High School
Topeka High School is a fully accredited high school, serving students in grades 9-12, located in Topeka, Kansas. It is one of four high schools within Topeka Public Schools. The school colors are black and gold...
. At Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
he earned a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Political Theory and an MFA
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
in Poetry. He traveled on a Fulbright Scholarship to Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
in 2003 where he wrote his second book, Angle of Yaw
Angle of Yaw
Angle of Yaw is a collection of poems by American poet Ben Lerner. It was a finalist for the 2006 National Book Award....
, which was published in 2006 and was subsequently named a finalist for the National Book Award
National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
, and was selected by Brian Foley as one of the "25 important books of poetry of the 00s (2000-2009)". Lerner's third full-length poetry collection, Mean Free Path, was published in 2010. Lerner's first novel, Leaving the Atocha Station, was published by Coffee House Press in August 2011. It was named one of the best books of the year by The Guardian and The New Statesman, among other periodicals.
In 2008 he began editing poetry for Critical Quarterly, a British academic publication. Lerner has taught at California College of the Arts
California College of the Arts
California College of the Arts , founded in 1907, is known for its broad, interdisciplinary programs in art, design, architecture, and writing. It has two campuses, one in Oakland and one in San Francisco, California, USA...
, the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
, and in 2010 joined the faculty of the MFA program at Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
.
Lerner's mother is the well-known psychologist Harriet Lerner
Harriet Lerner
Harriet Lerner, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and a contributor to feminist theory and therapy. From 1972 to 2001 she was a staff psychologist at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas and a faculty member and supervisor in the Karl Menninger School of Psychiatry...
.
Awards
- 2003 Hayden Carruth Award
- 2003-2004 Fulbright Fellowship
- Finalist, 2006 National Book AwardNational Book AwardThe National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
for Angle of YawAngle of YawAngle of Yaw is a collection of poems by American poet Ben Lerner. It was a finalist for the 2006 National Book Award....
. - Finalist, 2006 Northern California Book Awards for Angle of Yaw
- 2010-2011 Howard Foundation Fellow
- 2011 Preis der Stadt Münster für internationale Poesie
Poetry
- The Lichtenberg Figures, poetry (Port Townsend, Copper Canyon PressCopper Canyon PressCopper Canyon Press is an independent, non-profit small press, specializing in the publication of poetry and located in the picturesque town of Port Townsend, Washington. Since 1972, the Press has published poetry exclusively and has established an international reputation for its commitment to...
, 2004). - Angle of Yaw, poetry (Port Townsend, Copper Canyon PressCopper Canyon PressCopper Canyon Press is an independent, non-profit small press, specializing in the publication of poetry and located in the picturesque town of Port Townsend, Washington. Since 1972, the Press has published poetry exclusively and has established an international reputation for its commitment to...
, 2006). - Mean Free Path, poetry (Port Townsend, Copper Canyon PressCopper Canyon PressCopper Canyon Press is an independent, non-profit small press, specializing in the publication of poetry and located in the picturesque town of Port Townsend, Washington. Since 1972, the Press has published poetry exclusively and has established an international reputation for its commitment to...
, 2010).
Selected web publications
Poetry- Poem The Lost Browning Tape from SOFT TARGETS v.2.1
- Four poems from Angle of Yaw in Boston Review
- Three poems from Angle of Yaw in Jacket Magazine.
- An excerpt from The Lichtenberg Figures in Slope.
- Poems in Fascicle.
- Lerner's poem Didactic Elegy
- A poem by Lerner in The Nation
- Lerner's series "Doppler Elegies" in Jacket
Other
- Ben Lerner interviews Peter Cole in Bomb see Wikipedia article on Peter ColePeter ColePeter Cole is an American Jewish poet who lives in Jerusalem and New Haven.-Early life:Cole was born in 1957 in Paterson, New Jersey. He attended Williams College and Hampshire College, and moved to Jerusalem in 1981.-Literary career:...
for another perspective - Book Patrol: Ben Lerner on W.S. Merwin
- Poet’s Sampler: Lynn Xu Lerner provides an introductory note to a group of poems by Lynn Xu published in Boston ReviewBoston ReviewBoston Review is a bimonthly American political and literary magazine. The magazine covers, specifically, political debates, literature, and poetry...
s May/June 2010 issue
Critical pieces, retrospectives, etc.
- Apples of Discourse on Rosmarie WaldropRosmarie WaldropRosmarie Waldrop is a contemporary American poet, translator and publisher. Born in Germany, she has lived in the United States since 1958. She has lived in Providence, Rhode Island since the late 1960s...
in Jacket upon the publication of Waldrop's Curves to the Apple, which gathers her trilogy of prose poems - "Cezanne refused to dissolve the object into atmospheric effects..." on poet Mei-mei BerssenbruggeMei-mei BerssenbruggeMei-mei Berssenbrugge is a contemporary poet. Winner of two American Book Awards, her work is often associated with the Language School, the poetry of the New York School, phenomenology, and visual art...
in Rain Taxi, upon the publication of her book I Love Artists: New and Selected Poems - Of Accumulation: The Collected Poems of Robert Creeley on Robert CreeleyRobert CreeleyRobert Creeley was an American poet and author of more than sixty books. He is usually associated with the Black Mountain poets, though his verse aesthetic diverged from that school's. He was close with Charles Olson, Robert Duncan, Allen Ginsberg, John Wieners and Ed Dorn. He served as the Samuel P...
in boundary 2 - The Future Continuous: Ashbery's Lyric Mediacy on John AshberyJohn AshberyJohn Lawrence Ashbery is an American poet. He has published more than twenty volumes of poetry and won nearly every major American award for poetry, including a Pulitzer Prize in 1976 for his collection Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror. But Ashbery's work still proves controversial...
in boundary 2 - “Selfish Enchantments”: Barbara Guest and the Nature of Arrangement This essay on U.S. poet Barbara GuestBarbara GuestBarbara Guest née Barbara Ann Pinson was an American poet and prose stylist. Guest first gained recognition as a member of the first generation New York School of poetry....
first appeared in New American WritingNew American WritingNew American Writing is a once-a-year American literary magazine emphasizing contemporary American poetry, including a range of innovative contemporary writing. The magazine is published in association with San Francisco State University. New American Writing is published by OINK! Press, a...
, number 27 - An essay on the painter Simon HantaïSimon HantaïSimon Hantaï is a painter generally associated with abstract art.-Biography:...
- An essay on Abstract ExpressionismAbstract expressionismAbstract expressionism was an American post–World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve worldwide influence and put New York City at the center of the western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris...
Reviews
The Lichtenberg Figures- Poetry Microreviews appeared in the Boston Review September/October 2005 online edition.
- The Lichtenberg Figures, reviewed by Cindra Halm in Rain TaxiRain TaxiRain Taxi is a Minneapolis-based book review and literary organization. In addition to publishing its quarterly print edition, Rain Taxi maintains an online edition with distinct content, sponsors the Twin Cities Book Festival, hosts readings, and publishes chapbooks through its Brainstorm Series...
. - A Review of Ben Lerner's The Lichtenberg Figures by Brian Leary in 42opus
- Sustained elegy this review by Cyrus Console appeared online October 2005 in Jacket Magazine, Number 28.
Angle of Yaw
- Fault Lines: Ben Lerner's Angle of Yaw and Sarah Manguso's Siste Viator appeared in the Boston Review September/October 2007 online edition.
- A review of Angle of Yaw at Coldfront Magazine.
- A review of Lerner's work in The Pittsburgh City Paper focuses primarily on Angle Of Yaw
- An essay on Lerner's "Didactic Elegy" in Jacket
Mean Free Path
- An essay on Mean Free Path in The New RepublicThe New RepublicThe magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
- The Art of Losing, Re-mastered: an essay on Ben Lerner's "Mean Free Path" by David Gorin in Jacket Magazine, Number 40.
- A review of Mean Free Path in The Critical Flame
- A piece on Mean Free Path and six other contemporary poets at The Atlantic
- "Somewhere in this Book I Broke" -- a review of Mean Free Path
- A dialogue with Aaron Kunin about Mean Free Path in Jacket Magazine
- Karla Kelsey reviews Mean Free Path at the Constant Critic
- Ben Lerner's "Mean Free Path" reviewed by Evan Hansen at the website The The Poetry, April 4, 2010
- "Starred Review" in Publishers Weekly
- Mean Free Path reviewed in Library Journal
- Mean Free Path reviewed in Boston Review
- 'Giant Resonant Waves', Oxonian Review: review of Mean Free Path
Leaving The Atocha Station
- A review by James WoodJames WoodJames Wood was an officer of the U.S. Continental Army during the American Revolution and the 11th Governor of Virginia.-Personal life:...
in The New YorkerThe New YorkerThe New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast... - A review by Lorin SteinLorin SteinLorin H. Stein is an American critic, editor, and translator. He is the editor of The Paris Review.-Biography:Stein was born and raised in Washington, D.C., where he attended the Sidwell Friends School. He graduated from Yale College in 1995...
in The New York Review of BooksThe New York Review of BooksThe New York Review of Books is a fortnightly magazine with articles on literature, culture and current affairs. Published in New York City, it takes as its point of departure that the discussion of important books is itself an indispensable literary activity... - A review in The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
- Leaving the Atocha Station reviewed in the ForwardThe ForwardThe Forward , commonly known as The Jewish Daily Forward, is a Jewish-American newspaper published in New York City. The publication began in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily issued by dissidents from the Socialist Labor Party of Daniel DeLeon...
- Bookforum reviews Leaving the Atocha Station
- A review by David ShieldsDavid ShieldsDavid Shields is an American author of non-fiction, fiction, and works that resist generic classification. His latest book is Reality Hunger: A Manifesto...
in the Los Angeles Review of Books - a review at Electric Literature
- A review at Open Letters
Other
- Die wollen doch nur spielen An essay by Matthias Göritz, principally focusing in on the German translation of The Lichtenberg Figures; appears online in SPRITZ (German)
- An essay treating Lerner in Postmodern Culture.
External links
- Lerner's page at Copper Canyon PressCopper Canyon PressCopper Canyon Press is an independent, non-profit small press, specializing in the publication of poetry and located in the picturesque town of Port Townsend, Washington. Since 1972, the Press has published poetry exclusively and has established an international reputation for its commitment to...
- Lerner's page at Coffee House PressCoffee House PressCoffee House Press is a nonprofit independent press based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The press’s goal is to "produce books that celebrate imagination, innovation in the craft of writing, and the many authentic voices of the American experience." It is widely considered to be among the top five...
- Lerner's National Book Award page
- http://www.nationalbook.org/nba2006_p_lerner.htmlLerner's page at the National Book FoundationNational Book FoundationThe National Book Foundation, founded in 1989, is an American nonprofit literary organization established "to raise the cultural appreciation of great writing in America." It achieves this through sponsoring the National Book Award, as well as the medal for Distinguished Contribution to American...
] - Lance Phillips' interview with Ben Lerner.
- The Believers interview with Ben Lerner by Tao LinTao LinTao Lin is an American writer. He was born of Taiwanese parents and grew up on the East Coast of the USA.He is the author of two novels, Eeeee Eee Eeee and Richard Yates ; a novella, Shoplifting from American Apparel ; a short story collection, Bed ; and two poetry collections, you are a little...
. - Bookforum interviews Lerner.
- An interview with Lerner about his novel in the Huffington Post
- Lerner's page at Pennsound
- Lerner's page at Narrative magazine
- An excerpt from The Lichtenberg Figures in Ploughshares.
- An excerpt from Leaving the Atocha Station at Muumuu House.
- Ben Lerner Jacket Author Notes Page at Jacket magazine
- Lerner's page at Luxbooks (in German)