Philip Metres
Philip J. Metres III (born 1970 in San Diego, California and raised in Lincolnshire, Illinois) is an award-winning American poet, translator, scholar, and activist. His most recent poetry books include Pictures at an Exhibition, Sand Opera and A Concordance of Leaves. He has published poems, essays, and reviews in literary journals and magazines including Poetry,[1] New England Review, Tin House,[2] Ploughshares, New American Writing, Massachusetts Review, Field, and others.[3][4][5] His work has been anthologized in Best American Poetry; The New American Poetry of Engagement; With Our Eyes Wide Open: Poems of the New American Century;[6] A Face to Meet the Faces: An Anthology of Contemporary Persona Poetry (2011); I Go to the Ruined Place: Contemporary Poems in Defense of Global Human Rights (2009);[7] and Inclined to Speak: Contemporary Arab American Poetry (2008).
Metres’ honors include a Lannan Literary Fellowship, two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships, two Arab American Book Awards in poetry, the George W. Hunt, S.J., Prize, a Creative Workforce Fellowship, six Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Awards, the Beatrice Hawley Award, the Anne Halley Prize for best poem by Massachusetts Review (2012), the Cleveland Arts Prize (Emerging Artist) (2010),[8] Jury Prize for To See the Earth (Lit’s Literary Showcase, 2008), Twin Cranes Peace Poem Prize; “For the Fifty Who Formed PEACE with Their Bodies,” and a National Endowment of the Arts fellowship (2001). His first book, Behind the Lines, received the COPRED/OMNI PeaceWriting Award. During his Thomas J. Watson Fellowship (1992–93), he began to translate contemporary Russian poetry, and he has since published numerous translations of the poetry of Sergey Gandlevsky and Lev Rubinstein.
After Metres received a B.A. magna cum laude from Holy Cross College, he went on to earn an M.A. (English), M.F.A. (poetry) and Ph.D. (English) at Indiana University at Bloomington. He is currently a professor of English at John Carroll University.[9] Metres blogs frequently and teaches issues related to nonviolent resistance to war and racism in the United States, Middle East, and Northern Ireland.[10][11] Of Lebanese descent on his father's side, Metres plays a role in the Arab-American literary scene. Metres currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio with his wife, Amy Breau, and two young daughters. His family of origin includes psychologists Kay Dannemann Metres (mother) and Phil Metres Jr. (father), education and writing entrepreneur Katherine Metres (sister), and attorney David Metres (brother).
Published Works
Full-Length Poetry Collections (Original Poems and Translations)
- Pictures at an Exhibition. (Akron Poetry Series), 2016.
- Sand Opera. (Alice James Books), 2015.
- I Burned at the Feast: Selected Poems of Arseny Tarkovsky. (Cleveland State University Poetry Center), 2015.
- Compleat Catalogue of Comedic Novelties: Poems by Lev Rubinstein. Translation by Philip Metres and Tatiana Tulchinsky. (Ugly Duckling Press), 2014.
- To See the Earth. (Cleveland State University Poetry Center), 2008.
- Catalogue of Comedic Novelties: Selected Poems of Lev Rubinstein. Translation by Philip Metres and Tatiana Tulchinsky. New York: Ugly Duckling Presse, 2004.[12]
- A Kindred Orphanhood: Selected Poems of Sergey Gandlevsky. Translation by Philip Metres. Boston, MA: Zephyr Press, 2003.
Criticism
- “Beyond Grief and Grievance: The poetry of 9/11 and its aftermath.” Poetry Foundation website.
- “Poems for Peace.” Poetry Foundation website.
- “By Ambush and Stratagem: Poems of War and Peace in the Age of Pure War.” Oxford Handbook of Modern and Contemporary Poetry. Ed. Cary Nelson. New York: Oxford UP, 2011.
- “From Reznikoff to Public Enemy.” Poetry Foundation website.
- Behind the Lines: War Resistance Poetry on the American Homefront Since 1941. Poetry Criticism and Social History. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2007.
Poetry Chapbooks
- A Concordance of Leaves. Doha, Qatar: Diode Editions, 2013. Winner of 2014 Arab American Book Award.
- abu ghraib arias. Denver, CO: Flying Guillotine Press, 2011. Winner of 2012 Arab American Book Award.
- Thirty-Five New Pages. Translation. Lev Rubinstein. New York: Ugly Duckling Presse, 2011.
- Ode to Oil. Cleveland Heights, OH: Kattywompus Press, 2011.
- Instants. New York: Ugly Duckling Presse, 2006
- Primer for Non-Native Speakers. Kent, OH: Wick Poetry Series, 2004.
Anthologies Edited
- Come Together: Imagine Peace: An Anthology of Peace Poems. Introduction by Philip Metres. Ed. Philip Metres, Ann Smith, and Larry Smith. Huron, OH: Bottom Dog Press, 2008.
Honors and Awards
- Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award, 2016.
- Lannan Literary Fellowship, 2015.
- George W. Hunt, S.J., Prize, 2015
- PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grant, 2014
- Creative Workforce Fellowship, 2014
- Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award, Poetry, 2014
- National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, 2013
- Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award, Poetry, 2012
- Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award, Criticism, 2012
- Massachusetts Review Anne Halley Prize for Best Poem, 2012
- Cleveland Arts Prize, Emerging Artist Award, 2010
- Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award Grant, Criticism, 2009
- To See the Earth, Jury Prize for the Lit’s Literary Showcase, September 2008
- “For the Fifty Who Formed PEACE With Their Bodies,” First Place, Twin Cranes Peace Poem contest, 2004
- “The Doors of Vereshchagin,” First Place, New Words/Akron Art Museum contest, 2004
- Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award, Poetry, 2004
- Behind the Lines, COPRED/OMNI PeaceWriting Award 2002
- “Ashberries,” The Best American Poetry, 2002
- National Endowment of the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship, 2001
- Ross Lockridge Jr. Award for Creative Writing, Indiana University, 2001
- Guy Lemmon Prize for Professional Writing, Indiana University, 2000
- QALAM (Arab-American Literature) Contest, First Prize, Poetry, 1999
- Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, 1992-3
References
- ↑ "Biography: Philip Metres". Poetry Foundation. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
- ↑ Tin House. "Trash: Issue #13, Fall 2002". Tin House. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
- ↑ "Poets for Living Waters: Three Poems by Philip Metres.". Poets Gulf Coast. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
- ↑ "Third Factory/Notes to Poetry: Attention Span 2011 – Philip Metres.". Third Factory. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
- ↑ Metres, Phil. "Baby Weight.". Cleveland Magazine. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
- ↑ Hix, H.L. "Philip Metres' Answers". Retrieved 13 February 2012.
- ↑ Gregory, Alicia. "Review: 'I Go to the Ruined Place'". Foreign Policy in Focus. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
- ↑ Patton, Susan Ruiz. "Phil Metres, Poet: 2010 Emerging Artist Award for Literature". Cleveland Arts Prize. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
- ↑ "Phil Metres". RateMyProfessors.com. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
- ↑ "Philip Metres: The Poet Who Imagines Peace.". Voices Education Project. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
- ↑ "Phil Metres Reads at His Poetry". Literary Cafe. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
- ↑ "Instants by Philip Metres.". Ugly Duckling Presse. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
External links
- Philip Metres’ personal website.
- Philip Metres’ “Behind the Lines” blog
- Philip Metres' faculty page at John Carroll University
- Philip Metres on LinkedIn.