Edward Merton Dorn (April 2, 1929 – December 10, 1999, aged 70) was an

American poet The poets listed below were either born in the United States or else published much of their poetry while living in that country. A B C D E F G H I–J K L M N O P Q *George Quasha (born 1942 in poetry, 1942) R ...

and teacher often associated with the

Black Mountain poets The Black Mountain poets, sometimes called projectivist poets, were a group of mid-20th-century American ''avant-garde'' or postmodern poets centered on Black Mountain College in North Carolina. Background Although it lasted only twenty-three ...

. His most famous work is '' ''Gunslinger''''.

Overview

Dorn was born in

Villa Grove, Illinois Villa Grove is a city in Douglas County, Illinois, along the Embarras River. The population was 2,472 at the 2020 census. History Villa Grove was chartered in 1903 after the area was recognized by the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad (C ...

. He grew up in rural poverty during the Great Depression. He attended a one-room schoolhouse for his first eight grades. He later studied at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

and at

Black Mountain College Black Mountain College was a private liberal arts college in Black Mountain, North Carolina. It was founded in 1933 by John Andrew Rice, Theodore Dreier, and several others. The college was ideologically organized around John Dewey's educational ...

(1950–55). At Black Mountain he came into contact with

Charles Olson Charles Olson (27 December 1910 – 10 January 1970) was a second generation modern American poet who was a link between earlier figures such as Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams and the New American poets, which includes the New York ...

, who greatly influenced his literary worldview and his sense of himself as poet. Dorn's final examiner at Black Mountain was

Robert Creeley Robert White Creeley (May 21, 1926 – March 30, 2005) was an American poet and author of more than sixty books. He is usually associated with the Black Mountain poets, though his verse aesthetic diverged from that school. He was close with Char ...

, with whom, along with the poet Robert Duncan, Dorn became included as one of a trio of younger poets later associated with Black Mountain and with Charles Olson. In 1951, Dorn left Black Mountain and traveled to the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

, where he did manual labor and met his first wife, Helene; they returned to the school in late 1954. After graduation and two years of travel, Dorn's family settled in Washington state, the setting for his autobiographical novel ''By the Sound'' (originally published as ''Rites of Passage''), which describes the grinding poverty of life in "the basement stratum of society." In 1961 he accepted his first teaching job at

Idaho State University , mottoeng = "The truth will set you free" , established = , former_names = Academy of Idaho(1901–1915)Idaho Technical Institute(1915–1927)University of Idaho—Southern Branch(1927–1947)Idaho State ...

, where he published the magazine ''Wild Dog''. His first book of poetry, ''The Newly Fallen'', was published by LeRoi Jones's Totem Press in 1961. In 1965, with the photographer Leroy Lucas, Dorn spent the summer visiting Indian reservations for a book commissioned by William Morrow & Co. Press, ''The Shoshoneans''. That fall, British poet and scholar

Donald Davie Donald Alfred Davie, FBA (17 July 1922 – 18 September 1995) was an English Movement poet, and literary critic. His poems in general are philosophical and abstract, but often evoke various landscapes. Biography Davie was born in Barnsley, ...

invited him to join the faculty at the Literature Department he was creating at the new

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, Essex is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. Essex's shield consists of the an ...

. He spent most of the next five years in England, where he published several collections of poems and wrote Book 1 of ''Gunslinger''. He also started working with Gordon Brotherston on translations from Latin American texts, solidified his close friendship with British poet J.H. Prynne, and met his second wife, Jennifer Dunbar. On returning to the United States, Dorn spent the 1970s as an academic migrant, teaching at over half a dozen universities across the country. In San Francisco, he collaborated with the printer and artist team of (Holbrook) Teter and (Michael) Myers on a number of projects, including the ''Bean News'', the comic book format of ''Recollections of Gran Apachería, and the typesetting of the complete ''Gunslinger'' in 1974. In 1977 Dorn accepted a professorship at the

University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sys ...

, where he taught for the rest of his life, directing the Creative Writing Program and editing the literary newspaper ''

Rolling Stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can b ...

'' (motto: “If It Moves Print It”) with his wife Jennifer. Dorn was openly homophobic. His 1984 poem "Aid(e) Memoire" warned that those who "screw and are screwed...drink directly from the sewer." He inaugurated the "Aids Award for Poetry" in the same year, giving it to several leading gay poets. During the 1990s, after a teaching exchange visit to Paul Valery University in

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

inspired an interest in the

Cathars Catharism (; from the grc, καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure ones") was a Christian dualist or Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France. Fol ...

of Southern France, he started working on ''Languedoc Variorum: A Defense of Heresy and Heretics''. He was also writing another long narrative poem ''Westward Haut''. During the last two and a half years of his life, he wrote the poems for the posthumously published ''Chemo Sabe'', reporting on his cancer treatments. Dorn's main work, his

magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...

, is '' ''Gunslinger''''. ''Gunslinger'' is a long poem in five sections. Part 1 was first published in 1968, and the final complete text appeared in 1974. Other important publications include ''The Collected Poems: 1956-1974'' (1975), ''Recollections of Gran Apacheria'' (1975), ''Abhorrences'' (1989), ''High West Rendezvous: A Sampler'' (1997), and '' ay More West: New and Selected Poems' (2008). Popular horror novelist

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

admired Dorn, describing his poetry as "talismans of perfect writing" and even naming the first novel of

The Dark Tower series ''The Dark Tower'' is a series of eight novels, one short story, and a children's book written by American author Stephen King. Incorporating themes from multiple genres, including dark fantasy, science fantasy, horror, and Western, it descri ...

, "The Gunslinger," in honor of Dorn's poem. King opened both the prologue and epilogue of "The Stand" with Dorn's line, "We need help, the Poet reckoned."

Death

Dorn died of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

on December 10, 1999 in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. His papers are collected at the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

as well as at Indiana University at Bloomington.

Dorn's teaching career

During his life, Dorn taught at a number of institutions of higher learning, including

Pocatello Pocatello () is the county seat of and largest city in Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the principal city of the P ...

(1961–65); the

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

(1965-1970) as a Fulbright lecturer;

Northeastern Illinois University Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) is a public university in Chicago, Illinois. NEIU serves approximately 9,000 students in the region and is a Hispanic-serving institution. The main campus is located in the community area of North Park wi ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

(1970-1971);

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in As ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

(1973–74); and the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

(1977-1999). His second wife, Jennifer Dunbar Dorn, is an Englishwoman he met during his Essex-years. In the early 1970s, as a visiting poet at

, Dorn, along with British poet and editor

Eric Mottram Eric Mottram (29 December 1924 – 16 January 1995) was a British teacher, critic, editor and poet who was one of the central figures in the British Poetry Revival. Early life and education Mottram was born in London and educated at Purley Gramm ...

, was a mentor and supporter of the musical group

Devo Devo (, originally ) is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs (Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a ...

, and its founders

Gerald Casale Gerald Vincent "Jerry" Casale ( ) ( ''né'' Pizzute; born July 28, 1948) is an American musician. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, co-lead vocalist, and bass player of the new wave band Devo, which released a top 20 hit in ...

and Bob Lewis.

Works

Poetry

* 1961: ''The Newly Fallen'', Totem Press, New York.Web page title
"Archive / Edward Dorn (1929-1999)"
at the Poetry Foundation website, retrieved May 8, 2008. * 1964: ''Hands Up!'', Totem Press, New York. * 1964: ''From Gloucester Out'', Matrix Press, London (U.K.). * 1965: ''Idaho Out'',

Fulcrum Press Fulcrum Press (1965 – 1974)
quoting Rathna Ramanathan, "English little presses, book desig ...

, London. * 1965: ''Geography'', Fulcrum Press, London. * 1967: ''The North Atlantic Turbine'', Fulcrum Press, London. * 1968: ''

Gunslinger Gunfighters, also called gunslingers (), or in the 19th and early 20th centuries gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in gunfights and shootouts. Today, the t ...

'',

Black Sparrow Press Black Sparrow Press is a New England based independent book publisher, known for literary fiction and poetry. History Black Sparrow was founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1966 by John Martin in order to publish the works of Charles Bukowski ...

* 1969: ''

: Book II'', Black Sparrow Press * 1969: ''The Midwest Is That Space Between the Buffalo Statler and the Lawrence Eldridge'', T. Williams * 1969: ''The Cosmology of Finding Your Spot'', Cottonwood * 1969: ''Twenty-four Love Songs'', Frontier Press * 1970: ''

I & II'', Fulcrum Press, London. * 1970: ''Songs Set Two: A Short Count'', Frontier Press, * 1971: ''The Cycle'', Frontier Press * 1971: ''A Poem Called Alexander Hamilton'', Tansy/Peg Leg Press * 1971: ''Spectrum Breakdown: A Microbook'', Athanor Books * 1972: ''The Hamadryas Baboon at the Lincoln Park Zoo'', Wine Press * 1972: ''

, Book III: The Winterbook, Prologue to the Great Book IV Kornerstone'', Frontier Press * 1974: ''Recollections of Gran Apacheria'', Turtle Island * 1974: ''Slinger'' (contains ''

'', Books I-IV and "The Cycle"),

Wingbow Press Bookpeople was an employee-owned and operated book wholesaler and distributor based in the San Francisco Bay Area. It operated from 1969-2003. Bookpeople was one of the major forces behind the renaissance of independent publishing that occurred du ...

* 1975: With Jennifer Dunbar, ''Manchester Square'', Permanent Press * 1975: ''Collected Poems: 1956-1974'', Four Seasons Foundation * 1976: "Hello, La Jolla", No Mountains Poetry Project Broadside Series, Evanston, Il, 1976 * 1978: ''Hello, La Jolla'', Wingbow Press, * 1978: ''Selected Poems'', edited by

Donald Allen Donald Merriam Allen (Iowa, 1912 – San Francisco, August 29, 2004) was an American editor, publisher and translator of American literature. He is best known for his project ''The New American Poetry 1945-1960'' (1960), one of the anthologie ...

, Grey Fox Press * 1981: ''Yellow Lola'', Cadmus Editions * 1983: ''Captain Jack's Chaps—Houston/MLA'', Black Mesa Press * 1989: ''Abhorrences'', Black Sparrow Press * 1993: ''The Denver Landing'', Uprising Press * 1996: ''High West Rendezvous: A Sampler'' * 2001: ''Chemo Sábe'', Limberlost Press * 2007: ''Way More West: New & Selected Poems'', edited by Michael Rothenberg, Penguin Books. (posthumous) * 2012: ''Westward Haut'', Etruscan Books (posthumous) * 2012: ''Collected Poems'', Carcanet Press (posthumous). * 2015: ''Derelict Air: From Collected Out'', Enitharmon Editions (posthumous)

Translations

* 1968: With Gordon Brotherston, ''Our Word: Guerilla Poems From Latin America'', Grossman * 1969: With Gordon Brotherston, '' Jose Emilio Pacheco, Tree Between Two Walls'', Black Sparrow Press * 1976: With Gordon Brotherston, ''Selected Poems of Cesar Vallejo, Penguin * 1979: With Gordon Brotherston, ''Image of the New World'' Thames & Hudson * 1999: With Gordon Brotherston, ''Sun Unwound: Original Texts from Occupied America'', North Atlantic Books, anthology

Prose, fiction and essay

* 1960: ''What I See in the Maximus Poems'', Migrant Press (criticism) * 1964: Michael Rumaker and

Warren Tallman Warren Tallman (17 November 1921 – 1 July 1994) was an American-born poetry professor who influenced the Vancouver Tish poets. History Born in Seattle, Tallman was raised in Tumwater, Washington. He attended the University of California, B ...

, ''Prose 1'', Four Seasons Foundation * 1965: ''The Rites of Passage: A Brief History'', Frontier Press * 1966: ''The Shoshoneans: The People of the Basin-Plateau'', Morrow, 66 pages * 1969: Author of introduction, ''The Book of Daniel Drew'' ritten_in_1910_by_Bouck_White.html" ;"title="Bouck_White.html" ;"title="ritten in 1910 by Bouck White">ritten in 1910 by Bouck White">Bouck_White.html" ;"title="ritten in 1910 by Bouck White">ritten in 1910 by Bouck White Frontier Press * 1969: ''By the Sound,'' Frontier Press; republished with a new preface by the author, Black Sparrow Press, 1991 * 1971: ''Some Business Recently Transacted in the White World'' (short stories), Frontier Press * 1972: ''Bean News'' (newspaper, various authors, the 'secret book' of ''Gunslinger''), Zephyrus Image * 1976: ''The Poet, the People, the Spirit'', Talonbooks * 1978: ''Roadtesting the Language: An Interview with Ed Dorn'', UC, San Diego * 1980: ''Interviews'', Four Seasons Press * 1980: ''Views'', Four Seasons Press * 1993: ''Way West: Stories, Essays and Verse accounts, 1963-1993'', Black Sparrow Press, includes the previously published (1974) ''Recollections of Gran Apacheria'' * 2007: ''Ed Dorn Live: Lectures, Interviews, and Outtakes'', edited by Joseph Richey, University of Michigan Press. (posthumous) * 2012: ''Two Interviews'', Shearsman Books (posthumous)

References

External links

*

centomag.org

* ttp://www.sorabji.com/tpogh/stories/rambles/dorn.html From Gloucester Out sorabji.com
Three poems by Dorn
thing.net
Ed Dorn profile
epc.buffalo.edu

lib.uconn.edu/

vlib.us

, limberlostpress.com

* ttp://earthwithcity.blogspot.com/2007/05/what-is-not-permitted-is-recognition.html "What is not permitted is recognition": Dorn visits "Dog" earthwithcity.blogspot.com
Ed Dorn's Theatre of Impatience
pnreview.co.uk
Records of Ed Dorn are held by Simon Fraser University's Special Collections and Rare Books
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorn, Edward 1929 births 1999 deaths Deaths from cancer in Colorado Deaths from pancreatic cancer People from Douglas County, Illinois 20th-century American educators Beat Generation poets Black Mountain poets Kent State University faculty Idaho State University faculty Northeastern Illinois University faculty University of Colorado faculty Academics of the University of Essex Black Mountain College alumni University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni 20th-century American poets American Book Award winners 20th-century American male writers