Galway Kinnell - Works

Poet and writer, born in Providence, Rhode Island, USA. He studied at Princeton (1948 BA), and the University of Rochester (1949 MA), travelled widely, and taught at many colleges. Based in Sheffield, VT he was a translator and essay writer, but is best known for his direct and precise poetry, as in Selected Poems (1982).

Galway Kinnell (born February 1, 1927) is one of the most influential American poets of the latter half of the 20th century. An admitted follower of Walt Whitman, Kinnell rejects the idea of seeking fulfillment by escaping into the imaginary world.

Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Kinnell has said that as a youth he was turned on to poetry by Edgar Allan Poe and Emily Dickinson, drawn to both the musical appeal of their poetry and the idea that they led solitary lives.

He studied at Princeton University, graduating in 1948 alongside friend and fellow poet W.S. Kinnell draws upon both his involvement with the civil rights movement and his experiences protesting against the Vietnam War in his book-long poem The Book of Nightmares.

While much of Kinnell's work seems to deal with social issues, it is by no means confined to one subject. Some critics have pointed to the spiritual dimensions of his poetry, as well as the nature imagery present throughout his work. There’s also a certain sadness in all of the horror—“Nobody would write poetry if the world seemed perfect.” There’s also optimism and beauty in his quiet, ponderous language, especially in the large role animals and children have in his later work (“Other animals are angels.

Kinnell was the Erich Maria Remarque Professor of Creative Writing at New York University and a Chancellor of the American Academy of Poets.

Works

What a Kingdom It Was (1960) Flower Herding on Mount Monadnock (1964) Body Rags (1968) The Book of Nightmares (1971) Walking Down the Stairs (a collection of interviews) (1978). National Book Award The Past (1985) When One Has Lived a Long Time Alone (1990) Three Books (1993) Imperfect Thirst (1996) A New Selected Poems (2000) National Book Award finalist. Strong Is Your Hold(2006)

He has also published translations of Yves Bonnefroy, Yvanne Goll, François Villon, and Rainer Maria Rilke.