John Hollander

John Hollander (born October 28, 1929 in New York City) is a Jewish-American poet and literary critic.[1] As of 2007, he is Sterling Professor Emeritus of English at Yale University. Previously he taught at Connecticut College, Hunter College, and the Graduate Center, CUNY.

Contents

Life

Born to Jewish immigrant parents in New York, Hollander attended Columbia College of Columbia University, where he studied under Mark Van Doren and Lionel Trilling, and overlapped with Allen Ginsberg. After graduating, he supported himself for a while writing liner notes for classical music albums before returning to obtain a Ph.D. in literature.[2]

Hollander has been a resident of Woodbridge, Connecticut, since the late 1980s. He has served as a judge for several high school recitation contests, and says he enjoys working with students on their poetry and teaching it. He stresses the importance of hearing poems out loud: "A good poem satisfies the ear. It creates a story or picture that grabs you, informs you and entertains you."[3]

He is known also for his translations from Yiddish.

Hollander usually writes his poems on a computer, but if inspiration strikes him when he's away from it, "I've been known to start poems on napkins and scraps of paper, too.[3]

Hollander influenced poet Karl Kirchwey, who studied under Hollander at Yale. Hollander taught him that it was possible to build a life around the task of writing poetry.[4] Kirchwey recalled Hollander's passion:

“ Since he is a poet himself ... he conveyed a passion for that knowledge as a source of current inspiration.[4] ”

He also has served in the following positions, among others: member of the board, Wesleyan University Press (1959–62); editorial assistant for poetry, Partisan Review (1959–65); contributing editor, Harper's Magazine (1969–71).[5]

Awards and honors

Works

References

  1. ^ John Hollander at NNdb
  2. ^ Keillor, Garrison. Writer's Almanac. October 28, 2006.
  3. ^ a b c Boynton, Cynthia Wolfe, "Venerable Poet's Words To a Pop Music Beat", article, The New York Times, Connecticut and the Region section, February 10, 2008, p. 6
  4. ^ a b JOHN SWANSBURG (April 29, 2001). "At Yale, Lessons in Writing and in Life". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/29/nyregion/at-yale-lessons-in-writing-and-in-life.html. Retrieved 2010-10-15. "Karl Kirchwey, who graduated from Yale in 1979, recently became the director of creative writing at Bryn Mawr College, after having run the Unterberg Poetry Center at the 92nd Street Y for over a decade. He remembers his first two years at Yale as unfocused and unproductive." 
  5. ^ http://www.bookrags.com/tandf/hollander-john-tf/
  6. ^ STATE OF CONNECTICUT, Sites º Seals º Symbols; Connecticut State Register & Manual; retrieved on January 4, 2007

External links