Michael Casey
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Michael Casey (born 1947 in Lowell, Massachusetts) is an American poet.
His first collection, Obscenities, was chosen by Stanley Kunitz for the [1] Yale Series of Younger Poets. Other collections include Millrat (Adastra Press), The Million Dollar Hole (Orchises Press), Raiding a Whorehouse (Adastra), Permanent Party (March Street Press), and Cindi's Fur Coat (The Chuckwagon).
[edit] Education
Casey received a B.S. in Physics from Lowell Institute of Technology where he had the fortune of taking a class with poet William Aiken. Aiken introduced Casey to the American small press, notably the poetry magazine The Wormwood Review, and also the poetry of Bill Knott and Thomas Lux.
After military service, Casey began a MS in physics at SUNY Buffalo. With the publication of Obscenities, however, he changed course and pursued creative studies, studying under poet and editor John Logan. He worked on his thesis (an early version of Millrat) under the direction of poet Bill Sylvester.
[edit] Life, Work
After graduating college in 1968, Casey was drafted into the U.S. Army. His stay at Fort Leonardwood, Missouri provided the material for the later book, The Million Dollar Hole; his work as military policeman in Vietnam's Quang Ngai province is rendered in his debut collection, Obscenities.
Casey brought Alan Dugan's Poems with him to Vietnam. While in Vietnam, Casey discovered, in a book package delivered for the troops, Donald Allen's New American Poetry anthology and, in particular, the early work of poet Edward Field.
[edit] External Links
• Interview with Michael Casey at Turnrow
• Review of Million Dollar Hole at Frigatezine
• Poems from the Niederngasse Work Supplement issue
• Poems from The Bridge Review
• Article on Casey and the poetry of work in The Andover Townsman
