William Baer
Encyclopedia
William Baer is an award-winning American writer, editor, translator, and educator.
The author of sixteen books, he's a former Fulbright (Portugal) and a Guggenheim fellow, as well as the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts creative writing grant.
, in 1948. He was raised in the Bronx and Wayne, New Jersey, and he's a graduate of Rutgers (B.A. English) and New York University (M.A. English). He completed his doctoral dissertation in English at the University of South Carolina under the direction of James Dickey
and then attended the Johns Hopkins' Writing Seminars (M.A. Creative Writing) where he studied with John Barth
and David St. John
. He later attended the University of Southern California's Graduate School of Cinema (M.A. Cinema) where he received the Jack Nicholson Screenwriting Award. He currently holds the Melvin M. Peterson Chair in English and American Literature at the University of Evansville in southern Indiana. A Roman Catholic, Baer lives with his wife and two children in Evansville, Indiana.
, and "Borges" and Other Sonnets, recipient of the X. J. Kennedy Poetry Prize. His other books include translations from the Portuguese, Luís de Camões: Selected Sonnets; the textbook, Writing Metrical Poetry; and four collections of interviews, including Classic American Films: Conversations with the Screenwriters.
In 1989, William Baer was the Founding Editor of The Formalist
(1990–2004), a small poetry journal which played a significant role in the Formalist poetry revival (New Formalism
) and published the work of seven Nobelists and fifteen Pulitzer recipients. He’s also the former poetry editor and film critic for Crisis Magazine. Currently, he serves as the founding director of the St. Robert Southwell Institute, the director of the University of Evansville Press, the contributing editor at Measure, the faculty director of The Evansville Review, and the director of the Richard Wilbur Poetry Series
, the Howard Nemerov Sonnet Award
, and the Willis Barnstone Translation Prize
.
As a playwright, Baer's full-length plays (The Amistad Case, Guiteau, and Lighthouse, recipient of the James H. Wilson Playwriting Award) as well as his shorter plays have been produced at numerous American theaters, including the Dayton Playhouse in Dayton, Ohio; Acrosstown Repertory Theatre in Gainesville, Florida; the Florence Little Theatre in Florence, South Carolina; Playwrights' Circle in Palm Springs, California; the Fells Point Theater in Baltimore, Maryland; the Edward Albee Last Frontier Theater Conference in Valdez, Alaska; the Metropolitan Playhouse of New York in New York City; the Camino Real Playhouse in San Juan Capistrano, California (awarded "Best Play in the Festival"); Emerging Artists Theatre in New York City; the Chicago Dramatists Theatre in Chicago; Masker's Theater, Belfast, Maine; and the St. Tammany One-Act Play Festival in Covington, LA.
The author of sixteen books, he's a former Fulbright (Portugal) and a Guggenheim fellow, as well as the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts creative writing grant.
Life
Baer was born in Geneva, New YorkGeneva, New York
Geneva is a city in Ontario and Seneca counties in the U.S. state of New York. The population was 13,617 at the 2000 census. Some claim it is named after the city and canton of Geneva in Switzerland. Others believe the name came from confusion over the letters in the word "Seneca" written in cursive...
, in 1948. He was raised in the Bronx and Wayne, New Jersey, and he's a graduate of Rutgers (B.A. English) and New York University (M.A. English). He completed his doctoral dissertation in English at the University of South Carolina under the direction of James Dickey
James Dickey
James Lafayette Dickey was an American poet and novelist. He was appointed the eighteenth Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1966.-Early years:...
and then attended the Johns Hopkins' Writing Seminars (M.A. Creative Writing) where he studied with John Barth
John Barth
John Simmons Barth is an American novelist and short-story writer, known for the postmodernist and metafictive quality of his work.-Life:...
and David St. John
David St. John
-Biography:Born in Fresno, California, he was educated at California State University, Fresno, where he studied with poet Philip Levine, and at the University of Iowa, receiving an M.F.A. in 1974...
. He later attended the University of Southern California's Graduate School of Cinema (M.A. Cinema) where he received the Jack Nicholson Screenwriting Award. He currently holds the Melvin M. Peterson Chair in English and American Literature at the University of Evansville in southern Indiana. A Roman Catholic, Baer lives with his wife and two children in Evansville, Indiana.
Literary Activities
Baer is the author of five books of poetry, including The Unfortunates, recipient of the T. S. Eliot Poetry PrizeT. S. Eliot Prize (Truman State University)
The T. S. Eliot Prize for Poetry is awarded annually by Truman State University, which is a United States university located in Missouri. It is given "for the best unpublished book-length collection of poetry in English, in honor of native Missourian T. S. Eliot’s considerable intellectual and...
, and "Borges" and Other Sonnets, recipient of the X. J. Kennedy Poetry Prize. His other books include translations from the Portuguese, Luís de Camões: Selected Sonnets; the textbook, Writing Metrical Poetry; and four collections of interviews, including Classic American Films: Conversations with the Screenwriters.
In 1989, William Baer was the Founding Editor of The Formalist
The Formalist
The Formalist: A Journal of Metrical Poetry was a literary periodical, edited by William Baer, which was published twice a year from 1990 to the fall/winter issue of 2004.The Formalist published contemporary, metrical verse...
(1990–2004), a small poetry journal which played a significant role in the Formalist poetry revival (New Formalism
New Formalism
New Formalism is a late-20th and early 21st century movement in American poetry that has promoted a return to metrical and rhymed verse.-Origins and intentions:...
) and published the work of seven Nobelists and fifteen Pulitzer recipients. He’s also the former poetry editor and film critic for Crisis Magazine. Currently, he serves as the founding director of the St. Robert Southwell Institute, the director of the University of Evansville Press, the contributing editor at Measure, the faculty director of The Evansville Review, and the director of the Richard Wilbur Poetry Series
Richard Wilbur Award
The Richard Wilbur Award is named in honor of the distinguished American poet Richard Wilbur and was established at the University of Evansville under the direction of William Baer. The competition welcomes submissions of unpublished, original poetry collections, and public domain or...
, the Howard Nemerov Sonnet Award
Howard Nemerov Sonnet Award
The Howard Nemerov Sonnet Award was established in 1994 by The Formalist, a poetry magazine founded by William Baer. The award honors the poet Howard Nemerov, who died in 1991. It is an open competition for sonnets in English that draws about 3000 entries annually. The award itself is $1000...
, and the Willis Barnstone Translation Prize
Willis Barnstone Translation Prize
The Willis Barnstone Translation Prize is an annual award given to an exceptional translation of a poem from any language into English. The prize was inaugurated in 2002 by the University of Evansville under the direction of William Baer and has been presented annually since 2003. The award is...
.
As a playwright, Baer's full-length plays (The Amistad Case, Guiteau, and Lighthouse, recipient of the James H. Wilson Playwriting Award) as well as his shorter plays have been produced at numerous American theaters, including the Dayton Playhouse in Dayton, Ohio; Acrosstown Repertory Theatre in Gainesville, Florida; the Florence Little Theatre in Florence, South Carolina; Playwrights' Circle in Palm Springs, California; the Fells Point Theater in Baltimore, Maryland; the Edward Albee Last Frontier Theater Conference in Valdez, Alaska; the Metropolitan Playhouse of New York in New York City; the Camino Real Playhouse in San Juan Capistrano, California (awarded "Best Play in the Festival"); Emerging Artists Theatre in New York City; the Chicago Dramatists Theatre in Chicago; Masker's Theater, Belfast, Maine; and the St. Tammany One-Act Play Festival in Covington, LA.
Selected Books
- "Bocage" and Other Sonnets, Texas Review Press, 2008
- American Film Classics: Conversations with the Screenwriters, Praeger, 2007
- Rhyming Poems: A Contemporary Anthology, University of Evansville Press, 2007
- The Ballad Rode into Town, Turning Point, 2007
- Writing Metrical Poetry, Writer's Digest Books, 2006
- The Conservative Poets, University of Evansville Press, 2006
- Luís de Camões: Selected Sonnets, University of Chicago Press, 2005
- Sonnets: 150 Sonnets, University of Evansville Press, 2005
- Fourteen on Form: Conversations with Poets, University Press of Mississippi, 2004
- "Borges" and Other Sonnets, Truman State University Press, 2003
- Elia Kazan: Interviews, University Press of Mississippi, 2000
- The Amistad Case, Eldridge Publishing, 1998
- The Unfortunates, Truman State University Press, 1997
- Conversations with Derek Walcott, University Press of Mississippi, 1996
Awards
- Guggenheim Fellowship (Translation), 2007–2008
- X.J. Kennedy Poetry Prize, 2007
- Melvin M. Peterson Chair in English and American Literature, 2006-
- James H. Wilson Playwriting Award, 1999
- T.S. Eliot Prize in Poetry, 1997
- N.E.A. Creative Writing Fellowship in Fiction, 1995
- Jack Nicholson Screenwriting Award, Division of Cinema, U.S.C. 1986
- Fulbright Lectureship in American Literature, Portugal, 1981–1982