Jonathan Galassi
Encyclopedia
Jonathan Galassi born in Seattle, Washington, is the President and Publisher of Farrar, Straus and Giroux
, one of the eight major publishers in New York. He began his publishing career at Houghton Mifflin in Boston, moved to Random House in New York, and finally, to Farrar, Straus & Giroux. He joined FSG as executive editor in 1985, after being fired from Random House
. Two years later, he was named editor-in-chief, and is now President and Publisher.
Galassi is also a translator of poetry and a poet himself. He has translated and published the poetic works of the Italian poets Giacomo Leopardi
and Eugenio Montale
. His honors as a poet include a 1989 Guggenheim Fellowship
, and his activities include having been poetry editor for The Paris Review for ten years, and being an honorary chairman of the Academy of American Poets
. He has published poems in literary journals and magazines including Threepenny Review, The New Yorker, The Nation and the Poetry Foundation website.
Galassi graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy
where he became interested in poetry, writing and literature, and from Harvard College
in 1971. He was a Marshall Scholar at Christ's College
, Cambridge. He realized while attending Christ’s College that he wanted a career in book publishing. Galassi was born in Seattle (his father worked as an attorney for the Justice Department), but he grew up in Plympton, Massachusetts. He lives in Brooklyn and is married to Susan Grace, and they have two daughters.
Translations
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Farrar, Straus and Giroux is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger W. Straus, Jr. and John C. Farrar. Known primarily as Farrar, Straus in its first decade of existence, the company was renamed several times, including Farrar, Straus and Young and Farrar, Straus and Cudahy...
, one of the eight major publishers in New York. He began his publishing career at Houghton Mifflin in Boston, moved to Random House in New York, and finally, to Farrar, Straus & Giroux. He joined FSG as executive editor in 1985, after being fired from Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
. Two years later, he was named editor-in-chief, and is now President and Publisher.
Galassi is also a translator of poetry and a poet himself. He has translated and published the poetic works of the Italian poets Giacomo Leopardi
Giacomo Leopardi
Giacomo Taldegardo Francesco di Sales Saverio Pietro Leopardi was an Italian poet, essayist, philosopher, and philologist...
and Eugenio Montale
Eugenio Montale
Eugenio Montale was an Italian poet, prose writer, editor and translator, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1975.- Early years :...
. His honors as a poet include a 1989 Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
, and his activities include having been poetry editor for The Paris Review for ten years, and being an honorary chairman of the Academy of American Poets
Academy of American Poets
The Academy of American Poets is a non-profit organization dedicated to the art of poetry. The Academy was incorporated as a "membership corporation" in New York State in 1934...
. He has published poems in literary journals and magazines including Threepenny Review, The New Yorker, The Nation and the Poetry Foundation website.
Galassi graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy is a private secondary school located in Exeter, New Hampshire, in the United States.Exeter is noted for its application of Harkness education, a system based on a conference format of teacher and student interaction, similar to the Socratic method of learning through asking...
where he became interested in poetry, writing and literature, and from Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
in 1971. He was a Marshall Scholar at Christ's College
Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.With a reputation for high academic standards, Christ's College averaged top place in the Tompkins Table from 1980-2000 . In 2011, Christ's was placed sixth.-College history:...
, Cambridge. He realized while attending Christ’s College that he wanted a career in book publishing. Galassi was born in Seattle (his father worked as an attorney for the Justice Department), but he grew up in Plympton, Massachusetts. He lives in Brooklyn and is married to Susan Grace, and they have two daughters.
Published works
Full-Length Poetry Collections- North Street: Poems (HarperCollins Publishers, 2000)
- Morning Run: Poems (Paris Review Editions/British American Pub., 1988)
Translations
- Canti by Giacomo Leopardi (translated and annotated by Jonathan Galassi; Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2010)
- Selected Poems of Eugenio Montale (translated by Jonathan Galassi, Charles Wright, and David Young; edited with an introduction by David Young; Oberlin College Press, 2004)
- A Boy Named Giotto by Paolo Guarnieri (pictures by Bimba Landmann; Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1999)
- Collected poems, 1920-1954: Eugenio Montale (Farrar, Strauss & Giroux, 1998)
- Otherwise: Last and First Poems of Eugenio Montale (Vintage Books, 1984)
- The Second Life of Art: Selected Essays of Eugenio Montale (Ecco Press, 1982)
External links
- Profile: Harvard Magazine > Editor Extraordinaire Jonathan Galassi on the Risky Art of Publishing Books
- Video Interview: Charlie Rose > February 19, 1999 > A Conversation with Editor Jonathan Galassi
- Interview: Poets & Writers > July 1, 2009 > Agents & Editors: A Q&A with Jonathan Galassi by Jofie Ferrari-Adler
- Poem: The Nation > September 27, 2000 > Bequest by Jonathan Galassi
- Poem: The New Yorker > April 20, 2009 > Lunch Poem for F.S. by Jonathan Galassi
- Poems: The Poetry Foundation > Girlhood, Flow, May, Montale's Grave, North of Childhood, Saving Minutes, Thread and Turning Forty by Jonathan Galassi
- Review: A Review by Cynthia Haven of North Street by Jonathan Galassi