J. D. "Sandy" McClatchy (August 12, 1945 – April 10, 2018) was an American poet, opera librettist and

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

. He was editor of the ''

Yale Review ''The Yale Review'' is the oldest literary journal in the United States. It is published by Johns Hopkins University Press. It was founded in 1819 as ''The Christian Spectator'' to support Evangelicalism. Over time it began to publish more on hi ...

'' and president of

The American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...

Life

McClatchy was born Joseph Donald McClatchy Jr., in

Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania Bryn Mawr, pronounced , from Welsh for big hill, is a census-designated place (CDP) located across three townships: Radnor Township and Haverford Township in Delaware County, and Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It i ...

, in 1945. He was educated at Georgetown and

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

, from which he received his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in 1974. He lived in

Stonington, Connecticut The town of Stonington is located in New London County, Connecticut in the state's southeastern corner. It includes the borough of Stonington (borough), Connecticut, Stonington, the villages of Pawcatuck, Connecticut, Pawcatuck, Lords Point, and W ...

, and New York. His

husband A husband is a male in a marital relationship, who may also be referred to as a spouse. The rights and obligations of a husband regarding his spouse and others, and his status in the community and in law, vary between societies and cultures, ...

was

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...

Chip Kidd Charles Kidd (born 1964) is an American graphic designer known for book covers. Early childhood Born in Shillington in Berks County, Pennsylvania, Kidd grew up being fascinated and heavily inspired by American popular culture. Comic books ...

. His partner from 1977 to 1989 was poet Alfred Corn.

Career

McClatchy's poetic work was wide-ranging. He authored six collections of poetry, the fifth of which, ''Hazmat'', was a finalist for the 2003

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 ...

. He wrote texts for musical settings, including ten opera libretti, for such composers as

Michael Dellaira Michael Dellaira (born August 5, 1949) is an American composer. He is a citizen of the United States and Italy and resides in New York City with his wife, the writer Brenda Wineapple. Early life and career Dellaira was born Michael Dellario in S ...

Elliot Goldenthal Elliot Goldenthal (born May 2, 1954) is an American composer of contemporary classical music and film and theatrical scores. A student of Aaron Copland and John Corigliano, he is best known for his distinctive style and ability to blend various ...

Daron Hagen Daron Aric Hagen ( ; born November 4, 1961) is an American composer, writer, and filmmaker. Biography Early life Daron Hagen was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and grew up in New Berlin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Hagen was the youngest of t ...

Lowell Liebermann Lowell Liebermann (born February 22, 1961 in New York City) is an American composer, pianist and conductor. Life and career At the age of sixteen, Liebermann performed at Carnegie Hall, playing his Piano Sonata, op. 1. He studied at the Juilliar ...

Lorin Maazel Lorin Varencove Maazel (, March 6, 1930 – July 13, 2014) was an American conductor, violinist and composer. He began conducting at the age of eight and by 1953 had decided to pursue a career in music. He had established a reputation in th ...

Tobias Picker Tobias Picker (born July 18, 1954) is an American composer, artistic director, and pianist, noted for his orchestral works ''Old and Lost Rivers'', ''Keys To The City'', and ''The Encantadas'', as well as his operas ''Emmeline'', ''Fantastic Mr. ...

Bernard Rands Bernard Rands (born 2 March 1934 in Sheffield, England) is a British-American contemporary classical music composer. He studied music and English literature at the University of Wales, Bangor, and composition with Pierre Boulez and Bruno Maderna ...

Ned Rorem Ned Rorem (October 23, 1923 – November 18, 2022) was an American composer of contemporary classical music and writer. Best known for his art songs, which number over 500, Rorem was the leading American of his time writing in the genre. Althou ...

Bruce Saylor Bruce Saylor (born April 24, 1946, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American composer. Biography Saylor was born in the Germantown section of Philadelphia. In 1952, his family moved to Springfield Township, just outside the city, where he attend ...

William Schuman William Howard Schuman (August 4, 1910February 15, 1992) was an American composer and arts administrator. Life Schuman was born into a Jewish family in Manhattan, New York City, son of Samuel and Rachel Schuman. He was named after the 27th U.S. ...

and

Francis Thorne Francis Thorne (June 23, 1922 – March 7, 2017) was an American composer of contemporary classical music and grandson of the writer Gustav Kobbé. Life Francis Burritt Thorne, Jr. was born in Bay Shore, New York. His father was a ragtime pianist ...

. His honors include an Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1991). He also was one of the New York Public Literary Lions, and received the 2000 Connecticut Governor's Arts Award. McClatchy was affiliated with

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, where he was an adjunct professor, fellow of

Jonathan Edwards College Jonathan Edwards College (informally JE) is a residential college at Yale University. It is named for theologian and minister Jonathan Edwards, a 1720 graduate of Yale College. JE's residential quadrangle was the first to be completed in Yale's ...

, and editor of ''

The Yale Review ''The Yale Review'' is the oldest literary journal in the United States. It is published by Johns Hopkins University Press. It was founded in 1819 as ''The Christian Spectator'' to support Evangelicalism. Over time it began to publish more on ...

''. In 1999, he was elected into the membership of The American Academy of Arts and Letters, and in January 2009 he was elected its president. He previously served as Chancellor of the

Academy of American Poets The Academy of American Poets is a national, member-supported organization that promotes poets and the art of poetry. The nonprofit organization was incorporated in the state of New York in 1934. It fosters the readership of poetry through outreac ...

from 1996 until 2003. In addition to these appointments, he was a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

and received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

, and the

. When he was given an Award in Literature by the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters in 1991, the citation read:

J. D. McClatchy is a poet who has emerged into highly distinctive achievement in his third collection, The Rest of the Way. Formally a master, with enormous technical skills, McClatchy writes with an authentic blend of cognitive force and a savage emotional intensity, brilliantly restrained by his care for firm rhetorical control. His increasingly complex sense of our historical overdeterminations is complemented by his concern for adjusting the balance between his own poems and tradition. It may be that no more eloquent poet will emerge in his American generation.

In addition to being

Literary Executor The literary estate of a deceased author consists mainly of the copyright and other intellectual property rights of published works, including film, translation rights, original manuscripts of published work, unpublished or partially completed wo ...

Anthony Hecht Anthony Evan Hecht (January 16, 1923 – October 20, 2004) was an American poet. His work combined a deep interest in form with a passionate desire to confront the horrors of 20th century history, with the World War II, Second World War, in which ...

and

Mona Van Duyn Mona Jane Van Duyn (May 9, 1921 – December 2, 2004) was an American poet. She was appointed United States Poet Laureate in 1992. Biography Early years Van Duyn was born May 9, 1921 in Waterloo, Iowa."Van Duyn, Mona (1921–2004)." '' Dictio ...

, McClatchy was also, along with

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

professor and poet

Stephen Yenser Stephen Yenser (born 1941, Wichita, Kansas, United States) is an American poet and literary critic who has published three acclaimed volumes of verse, as well as books on James Merrill, Robert Lowell, and an assortment of contemporary poets. With ...

, co-executor for the

literary estate The literary estate of a deceased author consists mainly of the copyright and other intellectual property rights of published works, including film rights, film, translation rights, original manuscripts of published work, unpublished or partially ...

James Merrill James Ingram Merrill (March 3, 1926 – February 6, 1995) was an American poet. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1977 for ''Divine Comedies.'' His poetry falls into two distinct bodies of work: the polished and formalist lyri ...

Bibliography

;Poetry *''Scenes from Another Life'' (Braziller, 1981) *''Stars Principal'' (Macmillan, 1986) *''The Rest of the Way'' (Knopf, 1992) *''Ten Commandments'' (Random House, Inc., 120 pages, December 1999) *''Hazmat'' (Alfred A. Knopf: Random House, 96 pages, April 2004) *''Division of Spoils: Selected Poems'' (Arc, 2003) *''Mercury Dressing: Poems'' (Knopf, 2009) *''Seven Mozart Librettos: A Verse Translation'' (

W.W. Norton W. W. Norton & Company is an American publishing company based in New York City. Established in 1923, it has been owned wholly by its employees since the early 1960s. The company is known for its Norton Anthologies (particularly ''The Norton An ...

, 2010) *''Plundered Hearts: New and Selected Poems'' (Knopf, 2016) ;Criticism *''White Paper'' (Columbia UP, 1989) *''Twenty Questions'' (Columbia University Press, 200 pages, February 1998) *''American Writers at Home'', photographs by Erica Lennard (

Library of America The Library of America (LOA) is a nonprofit publisher of classic American literature. Founded in 1979 with seed money from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Ford Foundation, the LOA has published over 300 volumes by authors rang ...

, 240 pages, October 2004) ;As Editor * ''Poets on Painters: Essays on the Art of Painting by Twentieth-Century Poets'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988) *''The Vintage Book of Contemporary World Poetry'' (Random House, Inc, 654 pages, May 1996) *''Christmas Poems'' ed. John Hollander and J. D. McClatchy (Random House, Inc, cloth, 256 pages, October 1999) *''Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Poems and Other Writings'' (Library of America, 854 pages, August 2000) *''Bright Pages: Yale Writers, 1701–2001'' (Yale University Press, 540 pages, April 2001) *''Love Speaks Its Name: Gay and Lesbian Love Poems'' (Random House, Inc, 256 pages, May 2001) *''Poems of the Sea'' (Random House, Inc, 256 pages, November 2001) *''Collected Poems by James Merrill'' ed. Stephen Yenser and J. D. McClatchy (Alfred A. Knopf: Random House, 912 pages, November 2002) *''The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Poetry'', Second Edition (Vintage Books: Random House, 736 pages, April 2003) *''Allen Ginsberg: The Voice of the Poet'' (Random House, Inc, March 2004) *''Frank O'Hara: The Voice of the Poet'' (Random House, Inc., March 2004) *''W.H. Auden: The Voice of the Poet'' (Random House, Inc., March 2004) *''Horace, the Odes: New Translations by Contemporary Poets by Horace'', ed. J. D. McClatchy and Nicholas Jenkins (Princeton University Press, 320 pages, April 2005) *''Poets of the Civil War'' (Library of America, 250 pages, April 2005) *''The Changing Light at Sandover: A Poem by James Merrill'', ed. J. D. McClatchy and Stephen Yenser (Alfred A. Knopf: Random House, 608 pages, February 2006) *''Thornton Wilder: Collected Plays and Writings on Theater'' (Library of America, 800 pages, March 2007) *''Thornton Wilder: The Bridge of San Luis Rey and Other Novels 1926-1948'' (Library of America, 750 pages, September 2009) *''Thornton Wilder: The Eighth Day, Theophilus North, Autobiographical Writings'' (Library of America, 864 pages, February 2012) *''Sweet Theft: A Poet's Commonplace Book'' (Counterpoint, 256 pages, April 2016)

References

External links

*
Profile at Yale University
* * J. D. McClatchy Papers. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:McClatchy, J. D. 1945 births 2018 deaths American male poets Formalist poets American gay writers Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry winners Yale University faculty People from Stonington, Connecticut Poets from Connecticut American opera librettists National Endowment for the Arts Fellows American LGBT poets LGBT people from Pennsylvania 20th-century American poets 21st-century American poets 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Presidents of the American Academy of Arts and Letters