Henry Braun (July 25, 1930 – Oct. 11, 2014) was an American poet, teacher, and peace activist.

Biography

Henry Braun was born in Olean, New York in 1930. His mother died when he was two years old, and he grew up in an orphanage and foster homes in Buffalo. He was later raised by his father, and attended Hutchinson Central High School. Braun left the

University of Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 1846 ...

after his freshman year and attended

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , pro ...

on a full scholarship, where he studied with Claude Vigee and

J.V. Cunningham James Vincent Cunningham (August 23, 1911 – March 30, 1985) was an American poet, literary critic and teacher. Background Cunningham is described as a neo-classicist or anti-modernist. His poetry was distinguished by its clarity, brevity and ...

. He also met Joan Lapedos, his future wife.Henry Braun (1930-2014)
/ref> After graduating from Brandeis, he spent a year in France on a

Fulbright The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

. He and Joan married in France on June 14, 1956. Braun returned to Brandeis for an M.A. before studying at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

, where he knew

Robert Lowell Robert Traill Spence Lowell IV (; March 1, 1917 – September 12, 1977) was an American poet. He was born into a Boston Brahmin family that could trace its origins back to the ''Mayflower''. His family, past and present, were important subjects i ...

as a professor and

Anne Sexton Anne Sexton (born Anne Gray Harvey; November 9, 1928 – October 4, 1974) was an American poet known for her highly personal, confessional verse. She won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1967 for her book '' Live or Die''. Her poetry details ...

and Donald Junkins as classmates. In the 1960s he opposed the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, organizing poetry read-ins, donating his war tax dollars to a veterans' hospital and to Philadelphia public schools (for which he was convicted of tax evasion) and organizing a draft card turn-in at the Justice Department (for which he was an unindicted co-conspirator at the "Boston Five" trial). Braun taught literature and creative writing was at

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

, including a year at Temple's campus in Japan. He also organized poetry events at the Philadelphia YM-YWHA and was a frequent teacher at

Robert Bly Robert Elwood Bly (December 23, 1926 – November 21, 2021) was an American poet, essayist, activist and leader of the mythopoetic men's movement. His best-known prose book is '' Iron John: A Book About Men'' (1990), which spent 62 weeks on ' ...

's Conference on the Great Mother and the New Father. In 1968 his first poetry collection, ''The Vergil Woods,'' was published by Atheneum and nominated for the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

. His book, ''Loyalty: New and Selected Poems,'' was the first offering of Off the Grid Press. He was a Contributing Editor for the

American Poetry Review ''The American Poetry Review'' (''APR'') is an American poetry magazine printed every other month on tabloid-sized newsprint. It was founded in 1972 by Stephen Berg and Stephen Parker in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The magazine's editor is Elizab ...

. He lived off the grid in Weld, Maine with his wife until his death in 2014. In 2015 the Henry Braun Memorial Poetry Prize was instituted through the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...

System and is open to a past or present student or graduate student between 18 and 35 years of age.

Bibliography

* ''The Vergil Woods'' (Atheneum, 1968) * ''Loyalty: New and Selected Poems'' (Off the Grid Press, 2006)

External links

* http://www.henrybraun.net
Rest-in-Peace Henry Braun 1930-2014
at

Poetry Foundation The Poetry Foundation is an American literary society that seeks to promote poetry and lyricism in the wider culture. It was formed from ''Poetry'' magazine, which it continues to publish, with a 2003 gift of $200 million from philanthropist Rut ...

Complete text
of ''The Vergil Woods''
Henry Braun
at Off the Grid Press

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Braun, Henry Brandeis University alumni Boston University alumni American male poets Temple University faculty