James Baker Hall (April 14, 1935 – June 25, 2009) was an American

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

photographer A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographe ...

and

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

Biography

James Baker Hall was born in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

, in 1935. He was raised in a southern family of means and social standing, only to have a family scandal turn tragic when he was eight years old. This trauma, and its enduring consequence, would shape Hall's life work as an artist, which began when he took up photography at age eleven. Hall graduated from the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

with a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in English, having studied writing under Robert Hazel among his lifelong literary colleagues:

Wendell Berry Wendell Erdman Berry (born August 5, 1934) is an American novelist, poet, essayist, environmental activist, cultural critic, and farmer. Closely identified with rural Kentucky, Berry developed many of his agrarian themes in the early essays of ' ...

Ed McClanahan Edward Poage McClanahan (October 5, 1932 – November 27, 2021) was an American novelist, essayist, and professor. Biography McClanahan was born in Brooksville, Kentucky on October 5, 1932, to Edward Leroy and Jessie (Poage) McClanahan. He attend ...

Gurney Norman Gurney Norman (born 1937) is an American writer, documentarian, and professor. Biography Gurney Norman was born in Grundy, Virginia, in 1937. He grew up in the southern Appalachian Mountains and was raised alternately by his maternal grandparent ...

, and

Bobbie Ann Mason Bobbie Ann Mason (born May 1, 1940) is an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and literary critic from Kentucky. Her memoir was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Early life and education A child of Wilburn and Christina Mason, Bobb ...

. In 1960, he received a

Stegner Fellowship The Stegner Fellowship program is a two-year creative writing fellowship at Stanford University. The award is named after American Wallace Stegner (1909–1993), a historian, novelist, short story writer, environmentalist, and Stanford faculty mem ...

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

and shared the historic workshops in which ''Leaving Cheyenne'' (

Larry McMurtry Larry Jeff McMurtry (June 3, 1936March 25, 2021) was an American novelist, essayist, bookseller and screenwriter whose work was predominantly set in either the Old West or contemporary Texas.

) and ''One Flew Over the Cookoo's Nest'' (

Ken Kesey Ken Elton Kesey (September 17, 1935 – November 10, 2001) was an American novelist, essayist and countercultural figure. He considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. Kesey was born in ...

) were being written. After his first novel, ''Yates Paul, His Grand Flights, His Tootings'' (also written in these same workshops) was published to critical acclaim, Hall returned to his roots in photography. During this time, he became the close colleague of such photographers as Minor White, Richard Benson, and

Ralph Eugene Meatyard Ralph Eugene Meatyard (May 15, 1925 – May 7, 1972) was an American photographer from Normal, Illinois, U.S. Life and career Meatyard was born in Normal, Illinois and raised in the nearby town of Bloomington. When he turned 18 during World War ...

, was a contributing editor for ''Aperture'', and lectured widely on photography in such places as the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...

, the

Visual Studies Workshop Visual Studies Workshop (VSW) is a non-profit group dedicated to art education based in Rochester, New York, in the Neighborhood of the Arts. VSW supports makers and interpreters of images through education, publications, exhibitions, and collect ...

, and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. In 1973, Hall came back to Lexington to teach at the University of Kentucky and, for the next thirty years, would act as director of the creative writing program. In 2003, he retired as professor emeritus, having vastly influenced the next generation of Kentucky writers. Notable students include:

Maurice Manning Maurice Manning (born 14 June 1943) is an Irish academic and former Fine Gael politician. Manning was a member of the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament) for 21 years, serving in both the Dáil Éireann, Dáil and the Seanad Éireann, Seanad. Since Aug ...

, T. Crunk, Patrick O'Keeffe,

Rebecca Gayle Howell Rebecca Gayle Howell (born August 10, 1975, in Lexington, Kentucky) is an American writer, literary translator, and editor. In 2019 she was named a United States Artists Fellow. Education Howell was born to a working-class family in Lexington, ...

. Hall was prolific as both a writer and a visual artist, publishing widely in both arenas. In 2001, Hall was named the Poet Laureate of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. He was married to novelist and poet Mary Ann Taylor-Hall. He died on June 25, 2009, in his home outside Sadieville, Kentucky.

Publications

Writing

* ''The Missing Body of the Fox, Old Cove Press, 2022'' * ''Pleasure'', Scroll Press, 2007 * ''The Total Light Process: New and Selected Poems'',

University Press of Kentucky The University Press of Kentucky (UPK) is the scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and was organized in 1969 as successor to the University of Kentucky Press. The university had sponsored scholarly publication since 1943. In 194 ...

, 2004 * ''Praeder's Letters'',

Sarabande Books Sarabande Books is an American not-for-profit literary press founded in 1994. It is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, with an office in New York City. Sarabande publishes contemporary poetry and nonfiction. Sarabande is a literary press whos ...

, 2002 * ''The Mother on the Other Side of the World'', Sarabande Books, 1999 * ''Fast Signing Mute'', Larkspur Press, 1992 * ''Stopping on the Edge to Wave'',

Wesleyan University Press Wesleyan University Press is a university press that is part of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. The press is currently directed by Suzanna Tamminen, a published poet and essayist. History and overview Founded (in its present for ...

, 1988 * ''Her Name'', Pentagram Press, 1982 * ''Music for a Broken Piano'',

Fiction Collective Fiction Collective Two (FC2) is an author-run, not-for-profit publisher of avant-garde, experimental literature, experimental fiction supported in part by the University of Utah, the University of Alabama, Central Michigan University, Illinois Sta ...

, 1982 * ''Getting it On Up to the Brag'', Larkspur Press, 1975 * ''Yates Paul, His Grand Flights, His Tootings'', World Publishing Co., 1963; Cassell & Co., 1964; University Press of Kentucky, 2002.

Photography

* ''The Missing Body of the Fox, Old Cover Press, 2022'' * ''Pleasure'', Scroll Press, 2007 * ''Tobacco Harvest: An Elegy'', University Press of Kentucky, 2004 * ''A Spring-Fed Pond'', Crystal Publications, 2000 * ''Orphan in the Attic'',

University of Kentucky Art Museum The University of Kentucky Art Museum is an art museum in Lexington, Kentucky, located in the Singletary Center for the Arts building. The collection includes European and American artwork ranging from Old Masters to contemporary, as well as a sele ...

, 1995 * ''Minor White: Rites and Passages'', ''

Aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An opt ...

'', 1978 * ''Ralph Eugene Meatyard'', ''Aperture'', 1974

Selected articles

* "Robert," '' Southern Quarterly''. Vol. 40, No. 3. Spring 2002 * "Merwin," ''Field''. No. 55. Fall 1996 * "

Burk Uzzle Burk Uzzle (August 4, 1938 in Raleigh, North Carolina) is an American photojournalist, previously member of Magnum Photos and president from 1979 to 1980. Burk Uzzle (burkuzzle.com) has spent his life as a professional photographer. Initially g ...

: The Hustle Comes of Age," ''Aperture''. No. 77. 1976 * "The Strange New World of Ralph Eugene Meatyard", ''

Popular Photography ''Popular Photography'', formerly known as ''Popular Photography & Imaging'', also called ''Pop Photo'', is a monthly American consumer website and former magazine that at one time had the largest circulation of any imaging magazine, with an edit ...

'', July 1975 * "The Last Happy Band of Brothers," ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

''. April 1974 * "In My Shoes, ''

Place Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own Municipality, municipal government * "Place", a type of street or road ...

''. Vol. II, No. 2. December, 1972

Selected anthologies

* ''Home Ground: Southern Autobiography'', edited by J. Bill Berry.

University of Missouri Press The University of Missouri Press is a university press operated by the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri and London, England; it was founded in 1958 primarily through the efforts of English professor William Peden. Many publications a ...

. 1991 * ''The Pushcart Prize, VIII: Best of the Small Presses'', edited by Bill Henderson. The

Pushcart Press Pushcart Press is a publishing house established in 1972 by Bill Henderson (a one-time associate editor at Doubleday) and is perhaps most famous for its Pushcart Prize and for the anthology of prize winners it publishes annually. The press has ...

. 1983-1984 * ''Traveling America with Today's Poets'', edited by

David Kherdian David Kherdian (born 1931) is an Armenian-American writer, poet, and editor. He is known best for ''The Road from Home'' (Greenwillow Books, 1979), based on his mother's childhood—cataloged as biography by some libraries, as fiction by others. ...

. Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc: New York. 1977 * ''50 Contemporary Poets: The Creative Process'', edited by Alberta T. Turner.

David McKay Company David McKay Publications (also known as David McKay Company) was an American book publisher which also published some of the first comic books, including the long-running titles ''Ace Comics'', ''King Comics (David McKay), King Comics'', and ''M ...

, Inc. 1977 * ''Kentucky Renaissance: An Anthology of Contemporary Writing'', edited by Jonathon Greene. Gnomon Press: Kentucky. 1976 * ''Prize Stories 1968 The O. Henry Awards'', edited by William Abrahams. Doubleday & Co., Inc.: New York. 1968 * ''Stanford Short Stories''. 1962, edited by

Wallace Stegner Wallace Earle Stegner (February 18, 1909 – April 13, 1993) was an American novelist, short story writer, environmentalist, and historian, often called "The Dean of Western Writers". He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1972 and the U.S. National Book ...

and Richard Scowcroft.

Stanford University Press Stanford University Press (SUP) is the publishing house of Stanford University. It is one of the oldest academic presses in the United States and the first university press to be established on the West Coast. It was among the presses officially ...

: California. 1962

Selected solo exhibits

* ''Photographs of Wendell Berry by James Baker Hall'', Actors Theatre Gallery, Louisville, KY. 2009. * ''Photo/Synthesis'', 21c Museum, Louisville, KY. 2008-2009. * ''4 Over 50'', Gallerie Soleil, Lexington, KY. 2007. * ''Appear to Disappear'', City Gallery, Downtown Arts Center, Lexington, KY. 2006. * ''Tobacco Harvest: An Elegy'', Smith Berry Winery Art Gallery, New Castle, KY. 2004. * ''Portraits of Kentucky Writers'', Ann Tower Gallery, Lexington, KY. 2002.

Filmography

* ''Firesticks'', Premiere: Collective for Living Cinema, NYC. 1985.

About Hall's work

* "He makes our terror come alive – and our knowledge and our joy – in his beautiful singing." --

Gerald Stern Gerald Daniel Stern (February 22, 1925 – October 27, 2022) was an American poet, essayist, and educator. The author of twenty collections of poetry and four books of essays, he taught literature and creative writing at Temple University, Indi ...

* "James Baker Hall has consistently pursued in his poetry a trajectory that is deeply authentic. It has produced writing of daring and delicacy, over a period long enough to make it plain that this is not a momentary brilliance but a sustained vision. He has been dedicated to making the language reflect the surprise, the turns and leaps of memory and recurrent apparition, in which pain and beauty are often indistinguishable. This new collection 'The Mother on the Other Side of the World''displays an intimate authority and mystery of tone that are the fulfillment of a genuine gift and uncompromising devotion to it." --

W.S. Merwin William Stanley Merwin (September 30, 1927 – March 15, 2019) was an American poet who wrote more than fifty books of poetry and prose, and produced many works in translation. During the 1960s anti-war movement, Merwin's unique craft was thema ...

* "The poems are pure, untainted by irony, naked and delighted with being. If there is one unyielding source and destination in all these poems, it is love – people and things worth loving, and the quiet mantra that's always making itself matter. Though you might find yourself laughing or wincing, you understand that above all, James Baker Hall is a serious poet. He means what he says…. Hall is the real deal, the real, beautiful deal." --

Selected awards

* 2001 - Poet Laureate of Kentucky * 1993 - Southern Arts Council Fellowship * 1986 - Al Smith Fellowship * 1986 - Honorable Mention, San Francisco Art Institute Film Festival * 1983 - Pushcart Prize * 1980 - National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship * 1973 - Juror's Prize: Photovision (Boston) * 1967 - O. Henry Prize * 1960 - Stegner Fellowship

References

External links

James Baker Hall Official Website
Archive of photographs and films

Documentary on James Baker Hall, Wendell Berry, Bobbie Ann Mason, Ed McClanahan, and Gurney Norman
James Baker Hall at Larkspur Press
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, James Baker 1935 births 20th-century American novelists American male novelists 20th-century American photographers Writers from Lexington, Kentucky People from Scott County, Kentucky University of Kentucky alumni University of Kentucky faculty 2009 deaths 20th-century American poets American male poets Artists from Lexington, Kentucky 20th-century American male writers Novelists from Kentucky Poets Laureate of Kentucky