Kenny Fries is an American memoirist and 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...

. He is the author of The History of My Shoes and the Evolution of Darwin's Theory (2007), Body, Remember: A Memoir (1997), and editor of Staring Back: The Disability Experience from the Inside Out (1997). He received a 2009 Creative Capital grant in Innovative Literature, the 2007 Gustavus Myers Outstanding Book Award, the Gregory Kolovakos Award, a Creative Arts Fellowship from the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission and the National Endowment, and was a Fulbright Scholar to Japan.

Fries was born in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated with an MFA from Columbia University's School for the Arts. He currently teaches in the MFA in Creative Writing Program at Goddard College

Goddard College

Goddard College is a private, liberal arts college located in Plainfield, Vermont, offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Goddard College currently operates on an intensive low-residency model...

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Early Childhood and Illness

Kenny Fries was born to a fainting father and a grandmother who ran through the hospital screaming “My daughter gave birth to a freak!” Fries entered the world with only three toes on each foot and undersized legs that were twisted like pretzels and lacked the basic number of bones. At the time of his birth, there was no medical name for his condition so it was referred to as “congenital deformities of the lower extremities.” When he was an infant, many doctors advised Fries' parents to amputate his legs, but instead, his parents took the advice of a prominent doctor who was convinced that one day Kenny could walk. From the age of 6 months until he was in the fifth grade, Fries underwent many surgeries in attempt to “fix” his legs. However, for most of his childhood Kenny was able to get around fine and even participate in sports. Fries opens up about his childhood experiences in his book “Body Remember” in which he uses his surgical scars as a guide to his book.

Reference for 'early life and illness': http://articles.latimes.com/1997/nov/13/news/ls-53173?pg=4

Later life

As an adult, Kenny Fries stands at 5 feet tall. His right foot protrudes at a 90 degree angle while his right leg stands 3 inches shorter than his left. He wears orthopedic shoes molded to fit his feet. Since around 1990, Fries has been using a cane for support due to lower back pain caused by the disparity of his leg length.

• Reference for 'later life': http://articles.latimes.com/1997/nov/13/news/ls-53173?pg=4

Writings

Kenny Fries first officially started writing in 1988 after he had begun attending Millay Colony for the Arts. The majority of Fries' books and poems were written due to his experiences of being a disabled, gay, Jewish man. Some of the writings that Fries has written include: Body, Remember: A Memoir (2003), Staring Back: The Disability Experience from the Inside Out, The History of My Shoes and the Evolution of Darwin's Theory (2007), Anesthesia: Poems by Kenny Fries (1996), Desert Walking: Poems (2000), The Healing Notebooks (1990) and Night After Night: Poems (1984). Some of the scholarly writings written by Kenny Fries include: Songs of Whitman (2003), Comedy is Not a Crutch (2001), and The History of My Shoes and the Evolution of Darwin's Theory (2007) and Where Ecstasy Might Reside (1995).

• References for 'writings':

http://miraslist.blogspot.com/2010/02/interview-with-author-kenny-fries.html. http://web.ebscohost.com.libproxy.lib.csusb.edu/ehost/detail

Awards and Accomplishments

Kenny Fries received the 2007 Outstanding Book Award from the Gustavus Myers Center for the study of Bigotry and Human Rights. He was a Creative Arts Fellow of the Japan- US Friendship commission and the National Endowment for the Arts and a Fulbright scholar to Japan. He teaches in the Creative Writing MFA Program at Goddard College. In 2009 Kenny Fries received Yaddo Residency. In 2010 he received Ledig House International writers Residency. Fries has also collaborated with composers Kumiko Takahashi and Yuka Takechi and singer Mika Kimula on the new music work In the Gardens of Japan, which has been performed in Tokyo, Yokohama, and New York City. Kenny Fries also loves to travel. He has been to Japan many of times. Kenny fries has also received a grant in innovative Literature from the Creative Capitol Foundation to complete one of his books.

Upcoming events

Kenny Fries is having a poetry reading in Access Living in Chicago. This will be held on March 19, 2010 from 6:30- 7:30 pm.

Links

http://dha.osu.edu/news/fall07/fries.html

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Comedy+is+not+a+crutch%3a+disabled+comic+and+performance+artist+Greg...-a080500133

Formal Education

Kenny Fries graduated in 1977 from high school and went on to pursue a degree in English and American Literature, at Brandeis University. He also attended Grad school and received a Masters Degree in Playwriting at Columbia University.

Kenny fries is an associate Professor in the graduate program at Goddard College in Plainfield. He also teaches a creative writing class in MFA at Goddard College.

Work

• The History of My Shoes and the Evolution of Darwin's Theory (2007)
• Body, Remember: A Memoir (1997)
• Staring Back: The Disability Experience from the Inside Out (1997)
• Desert Walking: Poems (2000)
• Anesthesia: Poems (1996)

External links

• Fulbright Scholar Stories: Kenny Fries
• Kenny Fries's Web Site