John Malcolm Brinnin (September 13, 1916 – June 26, 1998) was a

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-born

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

poet 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 ...

Life and work

Brinnin was born in Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, to American parents John A. Brinnin and Frances Malcolm Brinnin. When he was still a boy, Brinnin's parents moved to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. Brinnin went to the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

for his undergraduate studies where he won three

Hopwood Award The Hopwood Awards are a major scholarship program at the University of Michigan, founded by Avery Hopwood. Under the terms of the will of Avery Hopwood, a prominent American dramatist and member of the class of 1905 of the University of Michigan, ...

s in 1938, 1939 and 1940. He worked his way through school in an

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...

book store. During part of this time (1936–1938), Brinnin served as the editor of the journal ''Signatures''. Graduating from Michigan in 1942, Brinnin went to

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

for graduate work. From 1949 to 1956, Brinnin was Director of the Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association Poetry Center, popularly known today as the

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. While he was there, he raised the center to national attention as a focal point for poetry in the United States. He was, for example, the first person to bring

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Under ...

to the US and his 1955 book, ''Dylan Thomas in America'', describes much of his attempt to befriend and help the troubled Welsh poet. In addition to his work on Thomas, Brinnin published six volumes of his own poetry. These collections include ''The Garden is Political'' (1942), ''The Sorrows of Cold Stone'' (1951), and ''Skin Diving in the Virgins, and Other Poems,'' his last publication in 1970. Brinnin also wrote scholarly works on

T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biogr ...

Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the Allegheny West neighborhood and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris ...

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics, ...

, and

William Carlos Williams William Carlos Williams (September 17, 1883 – March 4, 1963) was an American poet, writer, and physician closely associated with modernism and imagism. In addition to his writing, Williams had a long career as a physician practicing both pedia ...

, and he published three personal

travelogues Travelogue may refer to: Genres * Travel literature, a record of the experiences of an author travelling * Travel documentary A travel documentary is a documentary film, television program, or online series that describes travel in general or t ...

. Brinnin taught in a number of universities over his career. At various times, he gave courses at

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...

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 ...

, 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 ...

, and

. He was awarded the Gold Medal for Distinguished Service to Poetry from the

Poetry Society of America The Poetry Society of America is a literary organization founded in 1910 by poets, editors, and artists. It is the oldest poetry organization in the United States. Past members of the society have included such renowned poets as Witter Bynner, Ro ...

in 1955 and the Centennial Medal for Distinction in Literature from the University of Michigan in 1963.Guide to the John Malcolm Brinnin papers
Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware. Retrieved 10 May 2020. Brinnin died in

Key West, Florida Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Sigsbee Park, Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Isla ...

on June 25, 1998. Hi
papers
were left to the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...

Media portrayals

* In the 2014 UK Dylan Thomas television drama ''

A Poet in New York A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

'' Brinnin is portrayed by

Ewen Bremner Ewen Bremner (born 23 January 1972) is a Scottish character actor. His roles have included Julien in ''Julien Donkey-Boy'' and Daniel "Spud" Murphy in ''Trainspotting'' and its 2017 sequel ''T2 Trainspotting''. Early life Bremner was born in ...

. * Also in 2014, in the Thomas semi-biographical film ''

Set Fire to the Stars ''Set Fire to the Stars'' is a 2014 Welsh semi-biographical drama film directed by Andy Goddard in his directorial debut. Co-written by Goddard and Celyn Jones, the film stars Elijah Wood as poet John M. Brinnin and Jones as Dylan Thomas with s ...

'', Brinnin is portrayed by

Elijah Wood Elijah Jordan Wood (born January 28, 1981) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of Frodo Baggins in the ''Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy (2001–2003) and '' The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'' (2012). Wood ...

. * In the film ''

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'', John Malcolm Brinnin is portrayed by

Tony Hale Anthony Russell Hale (born September 30, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his role in the Fox comedy series ''Arrested Development'' as Buster Bluth. Hale played Gary Walsh on the HBO comedy ''Veep'' from 2012 until its ...

Bibliography

Poetry

* ''The Garden is Political'' (1942) * ''The Lincoln Lyrics'' (1942) * ''No Arch, No Triumph'' (1945) * ''The Sorrows of Cold Stone'' (1951) * ''Selected Poems of John Malcolm Brinnin'' (1963) * ''Skin Diving in the Virgins, and Other Poems'' (1970)

Works on literary figures

* ''Dylan Thomas in America'' (1956) * ''William Carlos Williams'' (1963) * ''Sextet: T. S. Eliot, Truman Capote and Others'' (1981) * ''The Third Rose: Gertrude Stein and Her World'' (1959) *''Truman Capote'': Dear Heart, Old Buddy (1981).

Travelogues

* ''Beau Voyage: Life Aboard the Last Great Ships'' (1988) * ''Travel and the Sense of Wonder'' (1992
link to digital edition
* ''The Sway of the Grand Saloon: A Social History of the North Atlantic'' (1971)

Footnotes

External links

John Malcolm Brinnin papers
Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware.
John Malcolm Brinnin papers supplement
Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware.
Digital edition of Brinnin's ''Travel And The Sense Of Wonder'' (1992)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brinnin, John Malcolm 1916 births 1998 deaths Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian people of American descent 20th-century Canadian poets 20th-century Canadian male writers Canadian male poets Harvard University alumni University of Michigan alumni Writers from Detroit Writers from Halifax, Nova Scotia Hopwood Award winners Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters