William Jay Smith
Encyclopedia
-
- For the 19th-century Tennessee congressman, see William Jay Smith (Tennessee politician)William Jay Smith (Tennessee politician)William Jay Smith, a Representative from Tennessee; born in Birmingham, England on 24 September 1823; immigrated to the United States and settled in Orange County ; attended the common schools; learned the printing trade; moved to Tennessee in 1846; during the Mexican-American War, in 1847, served...
- For the 19th-century Tennessee congressman, see William Jay Smith (Tennessee politician)
William Jay Smith (born 22 April 1918) is an American 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 was appointed the nineteenth Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress
Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress
The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress—commonly referred to as the United States Poet Laureate—serves as the nation's official poet. During his or her term, the Poet Laureate seeks to raise the national consciousness to a greater appreciation of the reading and writing of...
from 1968 to 1970.
Life
William Jay Smith was born in WinnfieldWinnfield, Louisiana
Winnfield is a city in and the parish seat of Winn Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,749 at the 2000 census. It has long been associated with the Long faction of the Louisiana Democratic Party and was home to three governors of Louisiana.-Geography:Winnfield is located at ...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. He was brought up at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, south of St. Louis. Smith received his A.B. and M.A. from Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis is a private research university located in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1853, and named for George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all fifty U.S. states and more than 110 nations...
, and continued his studies at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, and Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar.
In 1947 he married the poet Barbara Howes
Barbara Howes
Barbara Howes was an American poet.-Life:She was adopted by well-to-do Massachusetts family, and reared chiefly in Chestnut Hill, where she attended Beaver Country Day School. She graduated from Bennington College in 1937...
, and they lived for a time in England and Italy. They had two sons, David Smith, and Gregory. They divorced in the mid-1960s.
Smith was a poet in residence at Williams College
Williams College
Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...
from 1959–1967, taught at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
from 1973 until 1975. He serves as the Professor Emeritus of English literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
at Hollins University
Hollins University
Hollins University is a four-year institution of higher education, a private university located on a campus on the border of Roanoke County, Virginia and Botetourt County, Virginia...
.
As of 2008, he lives in houses located in both Cummington, Massachusetts
Cummington, Massachusetts
Cummington is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 978 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
and Paris, France.
Smith is the author of ten collections of poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
of which two were finalists for the National Book Award
National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
.
He has been member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters since 1975.
His work has appeared in Harper's Magazine, The New York Review of Books,
Awards
- 1945 Young Poets prize, Poetry
- 1964 Ford fellowship for drama
- 1970 Henry Bellamann Major award
- 1972 Loines award
- 1972, 1995 National Endowment for the Arts grant
- 1975, 1989 National Endowment for the Humanities grant
- 1978 Gold Medal of Labor (Hungary)
- 1980 New England Poetry Club Golden Rose AwardGolden Rose AwardThe Golden Rose Award, one of America’s oldest literary prizes, was inaugurated in 1919.The rose was modeled after the Gold Rose which is now in the Cluny Museum in Paris. The awards the Rose annually for American poetry.-List of winners:...
- 1982 Ingram Merrill Foundation grant
- 1990 California Children's Book and Video Awards recognition for excellence (pre-school and toddlers category), for Ho for a Hat!
- 1991 medal (médaille de vermeil) for service to the French language, French Academy
- 1993 Pro Cultura Hungarica medal
- twice a nominee for the National Book Award in poetry
- 1997 René Vásquez Díaz prize, Swedish Academy
Translations
- Poems of a Multimillionaire by Valéry Larbaud (1955) reprint 1972
- Two Plays by Charles Bertin : "Christopher Columbus" and "Don Juan" (1970)
- Songs of Childhood, Federico García Lorca (1994).