John Hollander
Encyclopedia
John Hollander is a Jewish-American poet
and literary critic
. As of 2007, he is Sterling Professor
Emeritus of English at Yale University
. Previously he taught at Connecticut College
, Hunter College
, and the Graduate Center, CUNY.
where he studied under Mark Van Doren
and Lionel Trilling
, and overlapped with Allen Ginsberg
. After graduating, he supported himself for a while writing liner notes for classical music albums before returning to obtain a Ph.D. in literature.
Hollander has been a resident of Woodbridge, Connecticut
since the late 1980s. He has served as a judge for several high school recitation contests, and says he enjoys working with students on their poetry and teaching it. He stresses the importance of hearing poems out loud: "A good poem satisfies the ear. It creates a story or picture that grabs you, informs you and entertains you."
He is known also for his translations from Yiddish.
Hollander usually writes his poems on a computer, but if inspiration strikes him when he's away from it, "I've been known to start poems on napkins and scraps of paper, too.
Hollander influenced poet Karl Kirchwey
who studied under Hollander at Yale
. Hollander taught him that it was possible to build a life around the task of writing poetry. Kirchwey recalled Hollander's passion:
He also has served in the following positions, among others: member of the board, Wesleyan University Press
(1959–62); editorial assistant for poetry, Partisan Review
(1959–65); contributing editor, Harper's Magazine
(1969–71).
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...
and literary critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
. As of 2007, he is Sterling Professor
Sterling Professor
A Sterling Professorship is the highest academic rank at Yale University, awarded to a tenured faculty member considered one of the best in his or her field...
Emeritus of English at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. Previously he taught at Connecticut College
Connecticut College
Connecticut College is a private liberal arts college located in New London, Connecticut.The college was founded in 1911, as Connecticut College for Women, in response to Wesleyan University closing its doors to women...
, Hunter College
Hunter College
Hunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
, and the Graduate Center, CUNY.
Life
Born to Jewish immigrant parents in New York, he attended Columbia College of Columbia UniversityColumbia College of Columbia University
Columbia College is the oldest undergraduate college at Columbia University, situated on the university's main campus in Morningside Heights in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1754 by the Church of England as King's College, receiving a Royal Charter from King George II...
where he studied under Mark Van Doren
Mark Van Doren
Mark Van Doren was an American poet, writer and a critic, apart from being a scholar and a professor of English at Columbia University for nearly 40 years, where he inspired a generation of influential writers and thinkers including Thomas Merton, Robert Lax, John Berryman, and Beat Generation...
and Lionel Trilling
Lionel Trilling
Lionel Trilling was an American literary critic, author, and teacher. With wife Diana Trilling, he was a member of the New York Intellectuals and contributor to the Partisan Review. Although he did not establish a school of literary criticism, he is one of the leading U.S...
, and overlapped with Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
. After graduating, he supported himself for a while writing liner notes for classical music albums before returning to obtain a Ph.D. in literature.
Hollander has been a resident of Woodbridge, Connecticut
Woodbridge, Connecticut
Woodbridge is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,983 at the 2000 census. It is one of the wealthiest towns in Connecticut, ranking 16th in the state in terms of per capita income, and is home to many of the faculty of Yale University...
since the late 1980s. He has served as a judge for several high school recitation contests, and says he enjoys working with students on their poetry and teaching it. He stresses the importance of hearing poems out loud: "A good poem satisfies the ear. It creates a story or picture that grabs you, informs you and entertains you."
He is known also for his translations from Yiddish.
Hollander usually writes his poems on a computer, but if inspiration strikes him when he's away from it, "I've been known to start poems on napkins and scraps of paper, too.
Hollander influenced poet Karl Kirchwey
Karl Kirchwey
Karl Kirchwey is a prize–winning American poet who has lived in both Europe and the United States and whose work is strongly influenced by the Greek and Roman past. He often looks to the classical world for inspiration with themes which have included loss, loneliness, nostalgia and modern...
who studied under Hollander at Yale
Yale College
Yale College was the official name of Yale University from 1718 to 1887. The name now refers to the undergraduate part of the university. Each undergraduate student is assigned to one of 12 residential colleges.-Residential colleges:...
. Hollander taught him that it was possible to build a life around the task of writing poetry. Kirchwey recalled Hollander's passion:
He also has served in the following positions, among others: member of the board, Wesleyan University Press
Wesleyan University Press
Wesleyan University Press is a university press that is part of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. The Press is currently directed by Suzanna Tamminen, a published poet and essayist...
(1959–62); editorial assistant for poetry, Partisan Review
Partisan Review
Partisan Review was an American political and literary quarterly published from 1934 to 2003, though it suspended publication between October 1936 and December 1937.-Overview:...
(1959–65); contributing editor, Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts, with a generally left-wing perspective. It is the second-oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. . The current editor is Ellen Rosenbush, who replaced Roger Hodge in January 2010...
(1969–71).
Awards and honors
- 2006: Appointed Poet LaureatePoet LaureateA poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
of the State of Connecticut (term ends in 2011) - 2006: Robert Fitzgerald Prosody AwardRobert Fitzgerald Prosody AwardThe Robert Fitzgerald Prosody Award is awarded to scholars who have made a lasting contribution to the art and science of versification. The award was named after the poet, critic, and translator Robert Fitzgerald. It was established in 1999 at the Fifth Annual West Chester University Poetry...
- 2002: Philolexian Award for Distinguished Literary AchievementPhilolexian SocietyThe Philolexian Society of Columbia University is one of the oldest college literary societies in the United States, and the oldest student group at Columbia...
- 1990: MacArthur Fellowship
- 1983: Bollingen PrizeBollingen PrizeThe Bollingen Prize for Poetry, which is currently awarded every two years by Beinecke Library of Yale University, is a literary honor bestowed on an American poet in recognition of the best book of new verse within the last two years, or for lifetime achievement.-Inception and controversy:The...
for Powers of Thirteen. - 1979: elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters Department of Literature
- 1958: Yale Series of Younger PoetsYale Series of Younger Poets CompetitionThe Yale Series of Younger Poets Competition is an annual event of Yale University Press aiming to publish the first collection of a promising American poet...
for his first book of poems, A Crackling of Thorns, chosen by W. H. AudenW. H. AudenWystan Hugh Auden , who published as W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,The first definition of "Anglo-American" in the OED is: "Of, belonging to, or involving both England and America." See also the definition "English in origin or birth, American by settlement or citizenship" in See also...
.
Works
- A Crackling of Thorns (1958) poems
- The Untuning of the Sky (1961)
- The Wind and the Rain (1961) editor with Harold BloomHarold BloomHarold Bloom is an American writer and literary critic, and is Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. He is known for his defense of 19th-century Romantic poets, his unique and controversial theories of poetic influence, and his prodigious literary output, particularly for a literary...
- Movie-Going (1962) poems
- PhilomelMilton Babbitt's PhilomelPhilomel, a serial composition composed in 1964, combines synthesizer with both live and recorded soprano voice. It is Milton Babbitt’s best-known work and was planned as a piece for performance at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, funded by the Ford Foundation and commissioned for soprano Bethany...
(1964) "cantata text" for the composition of the same name by American composer Milton BabbittMilton BabbittMilton Byron Babbitt was an American composer, music theorist, and teacher. He is particularly noted for his serial and electronic music.-Biography:... - Visions from the Ramble (1965) poems
- Types of Shape (1968) poems
- Images of Voice (1970) criticism
- The Night Mirror (1971) poems
- Tales Told of the Fathers (1975) poems
- Vision and Resonance (1975) criticism
- Reflections on Espionage (1976) poems
- Spectral Emanations (1978) poems
- Blue Wine (1979) poems
- The Figure of Echo (1981) criticism
- Rhyme's Reason: A Guide to English Verse (1981) criticism
- Powers of Thirteen (1983) poems
- In Time and Place (1986) poems
- Harp Lake (1988) poems
- Melodious Guile: Fictive Pattern in Poetic Language (1988)
- Some Fugitives Take Cover (1988) poems
- Tesserae and Other Poems (1993)
- Selected Poetry (1993)
- Animal Poems (1994) poems
- The Gazer's Spirit: Poems Speaking to Silent Works of Art (1995) criticism
- The Work of Poetry (1997) criticism
- Jiggery-Pokery: A Compendium of Double Dactyls (1997) with Anthony HechtAnthony HechtAnthony Evan Hecht was an American poet. His work combined a deep interest in form with a passionate desire to confront the horrors of 20th century history, with the Second World War, in which he fought, and the Holocaust being recurrent themes in his work.-Early years:Hecht was born in New York...
- Figurehead and Other Poems (1999) poems
- Picture Window (2003)
- The Oxford Anthology of English Literature, American Poetry: The Nineteenth Century, editor
- Poems Bewitched and Haunted (2005) editor
- A Draft of Light (2008), poems (due out in May)
- Sonnets. From Dante to the present, Everyman's library pocket poets.