Galway Kinnell facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Galway Kinnell
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Grindstone Cafe
Lyndonville, Vermont March 16, 2013 |
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| Born | February 1, 1927 Providence, Rhode Island, US |
| Died | October 28, 2014 (aged 87) Sheffield, Vermont, US |
| Occupation | Poet |
| Notable awards | National Book Award 1983 Pulitzer Prize 1983 |
| Spouse | Barbara K. Bristol |
Galway Mills Kinnell (born February 1, 1927 – died October 28, 2014) was an American poet. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and the National Book Award for Poetry in 1983 for his book Selected Poems. From 1989 to 1993, he was the official poet for the state of Vermont.
Galway Kinnell admired the poet Walt Whitman. Kinnell believed that people should find happiness in the real world, not just in their imagination. Some of his most famous poems include "St. Francis and the Sow" and "The Bear."
About His Life
Galway Kinnell was born in Providence, Rhode Island. He said that when he was young, he became interested in poetry because of Edgar Allan Poe and Emily Dickinson. He liked the musical sound of their poems and the idea that they lived quiet lives. The beauty of their language spoke to him because his hometown, Pawtucket, Rhode Island, felt very ordinary to him. He also described himself as a shy child.
Kinnell went to Princeton University and graduated in 1948. His friend and fellow poet W. S. Merwin was also in his class. He later earned a master's degree from the University of Rochester. He traveled a lot in Europe and the Middle East. He even went to Paris on a special study program called a Fulbright Fellowship.
During the 1960s, Kinnell became very interested in the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. This movement worked to gain equal rights for all people, especially African Americans. When he came back to the US, he joined a group called CORE (Congress of Racial Equality). He helped people register to vote and worked to end unfair separation in workplaces in Hammond, Louisiana. He was even arrested for his efforts.
In 1968, Kinnell signed a pledge with other writers and editors. They promised to refuse to pay taxes to protest the Vietnam War. Kinnell wrote about his experiences in the civil rights movement and his protests against the Vietnam War in his long poem The Book of Nightmares.
Kinnell's poems were published in the Beloit Poetry Journal. From 1989 to 1993, he was the official poet for the state of Vermont. He taught creative writing at New York University and was a leader at the American Academy of Poets. He retired in 2011 and lived in Vermont until he passed away in October 2014.
His Writings
Galway Kinnell's poetry often explored social issues, but it covered many other topics too. Some people have noted the spiritual side of his poems. He also used a lot of nature images in his work.
His poem "The Fundamental Project of Technology" combines these ideas. It explores the scary effects that atomic weapons have on people and nature. Sometimes Kinnell used strong and direct images to show his anger about how humans can be destructive. This anger came from his activism and his love for nature. He once said, "Nobody would write poetry if the world seemed perfect."
Even with the serious topics, there is also hope and beauty in his calm and thoughtful language. Animals and children play a big role in his later poems. He wrote, "Other animals are angels."
Besides his poetry and translations, Kinnell wrote one novel called Black Light (1966). He also wrote a children's book called How the Alligator Missed Breakfast (1982).
Kinnell wrote two poems to remember his close friend, the poet James Wright, after Wright died in 1980. These poems are in a collection called From the Other World: Poems in Memory of James Wright.
A line from Kinnell’s poem The Correspondence-School Instructor Says Goodbye to His Poetry Students was used in the popular novel Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. It was part of a goodbye note left by a character's mother.
Personal Life
Galway Kinnell married Inés Delgado de Torres, a Spanish translator, in 1965. They named their two children, Fergus and Maud, after characters from the works of poet William Butler Yeats. They divorced after 20 years. He married Barbara Kammer Bristol in 1997. He had two grandchildren.
His Passing
Galway Kinnell died on October 28, 2014, at his home in Sheffield, Vermont. He was 87 years old. His wife, Barbara K. Bristol, said that he died from leukemia, a type of cancer.
