Robert Dana
Encyclopedia
Robert Dana was an award-winning American
poet
, who taught writing and English literature at Cornell College
and many other schools, revived The North American Review
and served as its editor during the years 1964-1968, and was the poet laureate for the State of Iowa
from 2004-2008.
, Massachusetts
, in 1929. At the age of seven he became an orphan, and was uprooted and moved to the western part of the state where he was raised as a foster child in the home of James Francis ("Pop") Kearney in Haydenville, Massachusetts. He served in the South Pacific near the end of World War II
as a US Navy radio operator, and during lulls in the action found that he loved writing poetry. After being honorably discharged in 1948, he spent a year at Holyoke Junior College
on the GI Bill, then sold his raincoat and watch to purchase a one-way bus ticket to Des Moines, Iowa
. There he attended Drake University
, studying with the poet E. L. Mayo
, while supporting himself by working as a sports writer for the Des Moines Register
.
Upon graduation, he moved to far northwestern Iowa where he taught school for a year in George, Iowa
. He then moved to the other side of the state, studying with Robert Lowell
and John Berryman
at the University of Iowa
and the Iowa Writers' Workshop
, where he joined a group of noted writers including Donald Justice
, Henri Coulette
, Jane Cooper
, and Philip Levine
. He received his masters degree in 1954, and at the age of 25 was promptly hired by Cornell College
, Mount Vernon, Iowa; he remains the youngest person ever hired for a tenure-track faculty position there. He taught writing and English literature at Cornell from 1954 to 1994, eventually serving as both Professor of English and Poet-in-Residence.
In 1964, Dana was responsible for the resumption of the publication of The North American Review
. This required negotiating with Claiborne Pell
, who was a US Senator
from Rhode Island
at the time and maintained that he had the rights to the magazine's publication. After successfully concluding those arrangements, Dana served as the NAR's editor until 1968. Ron Sandvik, a later managing editor of the NAR, characterized Dana's role in rescuing it from oblivion as "a huge gift", saying "there are a lot of people who are indebted to him."
Dana also held teaching assignments at a number of other schools, including the University of Florida
, Wayne State University
, University of Idaho
, Wichita State University
, Stockholm University
, and Beijing University.
Dana published over a dozen collections of his poetry, wrote two prose books and edited a third. In addition, Dana's poetry, essays, and critical reviews have appeared in publications such as The Nation
, The New Yorker
, The New York Times
, The Christian Science Monitor
, Poetry
, The American Poetry Review
, The Iowa Review
and the Sewanee Review
.
Dana's poetry won a number of awards. His poetry collection Starting Out for the Difficult World was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize
in 1988. In 1989, he was the recipient of the Delmore Schwartz
Memorial Award for Poetry, given by New York University
for a poet who was "insufficiently recognized". He received the Carl Sandburg
Medal for Poetry in 1994, a Pushcart Prize
in 1996, and the Rainer Maria Rilke
Prize for Poetry. He was also the recipient of two National Endowment for the Arts
Fellowships (1985 and 1993). In September 2004, Robert Dana was named poet laureate for the State of Iowa, serving until 2008.
Fellow poet Marvin Bell
said that Dana "went about his life and work without getting caught up in the petty rivalries of the poetry world".
M.L. Rosenthal
, the prominent critic and champion of poetry, felt that Dana was a "richly lyrical poet" who was "very hard on himself and on the Karma of our world, whose work this whole country would recognize itself in, if it ever started to open books of poems."
Dana married twice, the first time for 22 years to Mary (Kowalke) Dana (later, Ware); the second time for 35 years to Peg (Sellen) Dana. He had three children from his first marriage: Lori Dana, Arden Dana, and Richard Dana. He answered editing questions about his forthcoming book Paris on the Flats the day before he died of pancreatic cancer
at Mercy Hospice in Iowa City at the age of 80.
Interviews, reviews, readings
Prose, recognition, other links
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...
, who taught writing and English literature at Cornell College
Cornell College
Cornell College is a private liberal arts college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Originally called the Iowa Conference Seminary, the school was founded in 1853 by Reverend Samuel M. Fellows...
and many other schools, revived The North American Review
North American Review
The North American Review was the first literary magazine in the United States. Founded in Boston in 1815 by journalist Nathan Hale and others, it was published continuously until 1940, when publication was suspended due to J. H. Smyth, who had purchased the magazine, being unmasked as a Japanese...
and served as its editor during the years 1964-1968, and was the poet laureate for the State of Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
from 2004-2008.
Biography
Robert Patrick Dana was born in BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, in 1929. At the age of seven he became an orphan, and was uprooted and moved to the western part of the state where he was raised as a foster child in the home of James Francis ("Pop") Kearney in Haydenville, Massachusetts. He served in the South Pacific near the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
as a US Navy radio operator, and during lulls in the action found that he loved writing poetry. After being honorably discharged in 1948, he spent a year at Holyoke Junior College
Holyoke Community College
Holyoke Community College is a state-funded public two-year community college located in Holyoke, Massachusetts. It offers associate degrees as well as a transfer program for students to earn credits for transfer to other colleges...
on the GI Bill, then sold his raincoat and watch to purchase a one-way bus ticket to Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
. There he attended Drake University
Drake University
Drake University is a private, co-educational university located in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. The institution offers a number of undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and pharmacy. Today, Drake is one of the twenty-five oldest law schools in the country....
, studying with the poet E. L. Mayo
E. L. Mayo
Edward Leslie Mayo was an American poet.-Life:He attended schools in Malden, Massachusetts, then Bates College in Lewiston, Maine....
, while supporting himself by working as a sports writer for the Des Moines Register
Des Moines Register
The Des Moines Register is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa, in the United States. A separate edition of the Register is sold throughout much of Iowa.-History:...
.
Upon graduation, he moved to far northwestern Iowa where he taught school for a year in George, Iowa
George, Iowa
George is a city in Lyon County, Iowa, United States, along the Little Rock River. The population was 1,051 at the 2000 census. The ZIP Code for George is 51237.-Geography:George is located at ....
. He then moved to the other side of the state, studying with Robert Lowell
Robert Lowell
Robert Traill Spence Lowell IV was an American poet, considered the founder of the confessional poetry movement. He was appointed the sixth Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress where he served from 1947 until 1948...
and John Berryman
John Berryman
John Allyn Berryman was an American poet and scholar, born in McAlester, Oklahoma. He was a major figure in American poetry in the second half of the 20th century and was considered a key figure in the Confessional school of poetry...
at the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
and the Iowa Writers' Workshop
Iowa Writers' Workshop
The Program in Creative Writing, more commonly known as the Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, is a highly regarded graduate-level creative writing program in the United States...
, where he joined a group of noted writers including Donald Justice
Donald Justice
Donald Justice was an American poet and teacher of writing. In summing up Justice's career, David Orr has written, "In most ways, Justice was no different from any number of solid, quiet older writers devoted to traditional short poems. But he was different in one important sense: sometimes his...
, Henri Coulette
Henri Coulette
Henri Coulette was an American poet and educator. His first book, The War of the Secret Agents and Other Poems , was greeted with acclaim and won the Lamont Poetry Prize...
, Jane Cooper
Jane Cooper
-Life and career:Cooper was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, spent her early childhood in Jacksonville, Florida, and then moved with her family to Princeton in the mid-1930s. She attended Vassar College from 1942 to 1944, and earned a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin in 1946. In 1953–54...
, and Philip Levine
Philip Levine (poet)
Philip Levine is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet best known for his poems about working-class Detroit. He taught for over thirty years at the English Department of California State University, Fresno and held teaching positions at other universities as well...
. He received his masters degree in 1954, and at the age of 25 was promptly hired by Cornell College
Cornell College
Cornell College is a private liberal arts college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Originally called the Iowa Conference Seminary, the school was founded in 1853 by Reverend Samuel M. Fellows...
, Mount Vernon, Iowa; he remains the youngest person ever hired for a tenure-track faculty position there. He taught writing and English literature at Cornell from 1954 to 1994, eventually serving as both Professor of English and Poet-in-Residence.
In 1964, Dana was responsible for the resumption of the publication of The North American Review
North American Review
The North American Review was the first literary magazine in the United States. Founded in Boston in 1815 by journalist Nathan Hale and others, it was published continuously until 1940, when publication was suspended due to J. H. Smyth, who had purchased the magazine, being unmasked as a Japanese...
. This required negotiating with Claiborne Pell
Claiborne Pell
Claiborne de Borda Pell was a United States Senator from Rhode Island, serving six terms from 1961 to 1997, and was best known as the sponsor of the Pell Grant, which provides financial aid funding to U.S. college students. A Democrat, he was that state's longest serving senator.-Early years:Pell...
, who was a US Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
at the time and maintained that he had the rights to the magazine's publication. After successfully concluding those arrangements, Dana served as the NAR's editor until 1968. Ron Sandvik, a later managing editor of the NAR, characterized Dana's role in rescuing it from oblivion as "a huge gift", saying "there are a lot of people who are indebted to him."
Dana also held teaching assignments at a number of other schools, including the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
, Wayne State University
Wayne State University
Wayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...
, University of Idaho
University of Idaho
The University of Idaho is the State of Idaho's flagship and oldest public university, located in the rural city of Moscow in Latah County in the northern portion of the state...
, Wichita State University
Wichita State University
Wichita State University is a NCAA Division I public university in Wichita, Kansas with selective admissions. WSU is one of six state universities governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The current president is Dr. Donald Beggs....
, Stockholm University
Stockholm University
Stockholm University is a state university in Stockholm, Sweden. It has over 28,000 students at four faculties, making it one of the largest universities in Scandinavia. The institution is also frequently regarded as one of the top 100 universities in the world...
, and Beijing University.
Dana published over a dozen collections of his poetry, wrote two prose books and edited a third. In addition, Dana's poetry, essays, and critical reviews have appeared in publications such as The Nation
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
, The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, The Christian Science Monitor
The Christian Science Monitor
The Christian Science Monitor is an international newspaper published daily online, Monday to Friday, and weekly in print. It was started in 1908 by Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist. As of 2009, the print circulation was 67,703.The CSM is a newspaper that covers...
, Poetry
Poetry (magazine)
Poetry , published in Chicago, Illinois since 1912, is one of the leading monthly poetry journals in the English-speaking world. Published by the Poetry Foundation and currently edited by Christian Wiman, the magazine has a circulation of 30,000 and prints 300 poems per year out of approximately...
, The American Poetry Review
The American Poetry Review
The American Poetry Review is an American poetry magazine printed every other month on tabloid-sized newsprint.Founded in 1972 by Stephen Berg, APR has always been published from editorial offices in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Berg is one of three editors, along with David Bonanno and Elizabeth...
, The Iowa Review
The Iowa Review
The Iowa Review is an American literary magazine that publishes fiction, poetry, essays, and reviews.Founded in 1970, this magazine is issued three times a year, during the months of April, August, and December. Originally, it was released on a quarterly basis. This frequency of publication lasted...
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...
.
Dana's poetry won a number of awards. His poetry collection Starting Out for the Difficult World was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
in 1988. In 1989, he was the recipient of the Delmore Schwartz
Delmore Schwartz
Delmore Schwartz was an American poet and short story writer from Brooklyn, New York.-Biography:Schwartz was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. His parents, Harry and Rose, both Romanian Jews, separated when Schwartz was nine, and their divorce had a profound effect on him. Later, in 1930,...
Memorial Award for Poetry, given by New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
for a poet who was "insufficiently recognized". He received the Carl Sandburg
Carl Sandburg
Carl Sandburg was an American writer and editor, best known for his poetry. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, two for his poetry and another for a biography of Abraham Lincoln. H. L. Mencken called Carl Sandburg "indubitably an American in every pulse-beat."-Biography:Sandburg was born in Galesburg,...
Medal for Poetry in 1994, a Pushcart Prize
Pushcart Prize
The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are invited to nominate up to 6 works they have featured....
in 1996, and the Rainer Maria Rilke
Rainer Maria Rilke
René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke , better known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was a Bohemian–Austrian poet. He is considered one of the most significant poets in the German language...
Prize for Poetry. He was also the recipient of two National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
Fellowships (1985 and 1993). In September 2004, Robert Dana was named poet laureate for the State of Iowa, serving until 2008.
Fellow poet Marvin Bell
Marvin Bell
Marvin Bell is an American poet and teacher who was the first Poet Laureate of the State of Iowa.Bell was born in New York City and raised in Center Moriches, Long Island...
said that Dana "went about his life and work without getting caught up in the petty rivalries of the poetry world".
M.L. Rosenthal
Macha Rosenthal
Macha Louis Rosenthal was an American poet and editor. The W. B. Yeats Society of New York renamed their award for achievement in Yeats studies the M. L. Rosenthal Award after Rosenthal's death...
, the prominent critic and champion of poetry, felt that Dana was a "richly lyrical poet" who was "very hard on himself and on the Karma of our world, whose work this whole country would recognize itself in, if it ever started to open books of poems."
Dana married twice, the first time for 22 years to Mary (Kowalke) Dana (later, Ware); the second time for 35 years to Peg (Sellen) Dana. He had three children from his first marriage: Lori Dana, Arden Dana, and Richard Dana. He answered editing questions about his forthcoming book Paris on the Flats the day before he died of pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer refers to a malignant neoplasm of the pancreas. The most common type of pancreatic cancer, accounting for 95% of these tumors is adenocarcinoma, which arises within the exocrine component of the pancreas. A minority arises from the islet cells and is classified as a...
at Mercy Hospice in Iowa City at the age of 80.
Poetry
- My Glass Brother and Other Poems (Constance Press/Stonewall Press, 1957)
- The Dark Flags of Waking (Qara Press, 1964)
- Journeys from the Skin (The Hundred Pound Press, 1966)
- Some Versions of Silence (W. W. Norton & Company, 1967)
- The Power of the Visible (The Swallow PressOhio University PressOhio University Press is part of Ohio University. It publishes under its own name and the imprint Swallow Press....
, 1971) - In a Fugitive Season: A Sequence of Poems (Ohio University PressOhio University PressOhio University Press is part of Ohio University. It publishes under its own name and the imprint Swallow Press....
1980) - What the Stones Know (Seamark Press, 1982)
- Blood Harvest (Windhover Press, 1986)
- Starting Out for the Difficult World (Harper & Row, 1987)
- What I Think I Know: New and Selected Poems (Another Chicago Press, 1991)
- Yes, Everything (Another Chicago Press, 1994)
- Hello, Stranger: Beach Poems (Anhinga PressAnhinga PressAnhinga Press is an American, independent, literary press located in Tallahassee, Florida. The press began in 1972 as an outgrowth of the Apalachee Poetry Center, a non-profit organization promoting the reading and understanding of poetry. In 1976, founder and poet, Van Brock, expanded the scope of...
, 1996) - Summer (Anhinga Press, 2000)
- The Morning of the Red Admirals (Anhinga Press, 2004)
- The Other (Anhinga Press, 2008)
- New & Selected Poems 1955 to 2010 (Anhinga Press, 2010 - posthumously)
Prose
- Against the Grain: Interviews with Maverick American Publishers (University of Iowa PressUniversity of Iowa PressThe University of Iowa Press is a university press that is part of the University of Iowa.Established in 1969, the University of Iowa Press publishes books that fill the needs of scholars and students throughout the world, poetry and short fiction, and works of creative nonfiction...
, 1986 and 2009) - A Community of Writer’s: Paul Engle and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop editor (University of Iowa Press, 1999)
- Paris on the Flats: Versions of a Literary Life (University of Tampa Press, 2010 - posthumously)
External links
Links to poems- Poems by Robert Dana, poetry by Robert Dana including "Heat", "A Short History of the Middle West", and "Beach Attitudes" on The Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor
- "Rapture", poetry by Robert Dana including the poem "Rapture" on Anhinga PressAnhinga PressAnhinga Press is an American, independent, literary press located in Tallahassee, Florida. The press began in 1972 as an outgrowth of the Apalachee Poetry Center, a non-profit organization promoting the reading and understanding of poetry. In 1976, founder and poet, Van Brock, expanded the scope of...
. - Poetry by Former Poet Laureate Robert Dana, including "This Time" and "The Morning of the Red Admirals" on University of Iowa Speakers Bureau.
- "After the Storm", a poem by Robert Dana, on Poetry Daily.
- "Mending Art", poetry by Robert Dana, on Pif Magazine.
Interviews, reviews, readings
- Robert Dana Interviewed by Derek Alger, in Pif MagazinePif MagazinePif Magazine is one of the oldest, continually published literary zines online. Founded in 1995 by Richard Luck, the magazine has published original works by authors such as Amy Hempel, Julia Slavin, Richard Yates, and David Lehman, as well as interviews with modern literary greats like A. Manette...
. - Better to Go in Rags: An Interview with Robert Dana, by Sara Pennington in Chattahoochee ReviewChattahoochee ReviewThe Chattahoochee Review is a literary journal published at Georgia Perimeter College. It is widely regarded as one of the leading voices in Southern fiction and was recognized for its legacy with the State of Georgia's "Medal in the Humanities" in 2003...
. - Review of The Other, a review of The Other: Poetry by Robert Dana, reviewed by Richard Holinger.
- From Deep Space: The Poetry of Robert Dana, by Edward Brunner in The Iowa Review.
- An Evening with Robert Dana, on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
. - Robert Dana Reading, Live From Prairie LightsPrairie lightsPrairie Lights is an independent bookstore in downtown Iowa City, Iowa, founded in 1978, by Jim Harris.-History:The store's original location was a space on South Linn Street...
, Oct. 18, 2009, on Iowa Digital Library.
Prose, recognition, other links
- "Spender Once More" by Robert Dana, describing Dana's friendship with fellow poet Stephen SpenderStephen SpenderSir Stephen Harold Spender CBE was an English poet, novelist and essayist who concentrated on themes of social injustice and the class struggle in his work...
. - Iowa Poet Robert Dana Dies Feb. 6, 2010, by Denise LowDenise LowDenise Low is an American poet, honored as the second Kansas Poet Laureate . A professor at Haskell Indian Nations University, Low teaches literature, creative writing and American Indian Studies courses at the university. She was succeeded by Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg on July 1, 2009.-Biography:Low...
, former Kansas Poet Laureate. - Thing One and Thing Two, Robert Dana as Teacher by Stephen Corey, part of a celebration of Dana at the 2007 Association of Writers & Writing ProgramsAssociation of Writers & Writing ProgramsThe Association of Writers & Writing Programs is a literary organization whose mission is "to foster literary talent and achievement, to advance the art of writing as essential to a good education, and to serve the makers, teachers, students, and readers of contemporary writing."-Members:AWP...
Conference. - Two poems by Robert Dana to be used in dedication ceremonies two Iowa events reported by Cornell CollegeCornell CollegeCornell College is a private liberal arts college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Originally called the Iowa Conference Seminary, the school was founded in 1853 by Reverend Samuel M. Fellows...
. - Robert Dana Links, a compilation of links about Robert Dana by Cornell College