Kenneth Lee Irby (November 18, 1936 – July 30, 2015) 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 ...

. He won a 2010

Shelley Memorial Award The Shelley Memorial Award of the Poetry Society of America, was established by the will of Mary P. Sears, and named after the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. The prize is given to a living American poet selected with reference to genius and need, and is ...

. He is sometimes 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 ...

, especially with Robert Duncan,

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 ...

, and

Ed Dorn Edward Merton Dorn (April 2, 1929 – December 10, 1999, aged 70) was an American poet and teacher often associated with the Black Mountain poets. His most famous work is '' ''Gunslinger'. Overview Dorn was born in Villa Grove, Illinois. ...

. He was born in Bowie,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, and In 1940 he moved to Fort Scott, Kansas with his family. He graduated from the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

, from

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 ...

with an A.M., and from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

with a M.L.S. degree. He was a visiting professor at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

on a Fulbright grant. Irby's last role was as a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

at the University of Kansas. A colloquium held at the University of Kansas on November 5, 2011 honored Irby's work, on the occasion of his 75th birthday. Contributions were made by fellow poets Joseph Harrington, Denise Low, Benjamin Friedlander,

Pierre Joris Pierre Joris (born July 14, 1946) is a Luxembourg-American poet, essayist, translator, and anthologist. He has moved between Europe, North Africa & the US for 55 years, publishing over 80 books of poetry, essays, translations & anthologies — mo ...

, and

Lyn Hejinian Lyn Hejinian (born May 17, 1941) is an American poet, essayist, translator and publisher. She is often associated with the Language poets and is known for her landmark work ''My Life'' (Sun & Moon, 1987, original version Burning Deck, 1980), a ...

. He died on 30 July 2015 at Lawrence Memorial Hospital.

Works

* * * ''Studies'', First Intensiy Press, 2001, * ''Ridge to Ridge'', Other Wind Press, 2001, * ''Antiphonal and Fall to Fall'', Kavyayantra Press, 1994 * ''Call Steps'', Station Hill/Tansy, 1992;Station Hill Authors - Kenneth Irby
Midpoint Trade Books Inc, 1997, * ''Orexis'', Station Hill, 1981, * ''Catalpa'', Tansy Press, 1977 * ''Archipelago'', Tuumba Press, 1976 * ''To Max Douglas'', Tansy Peg Leg Press, 1974 * ''Relation: poems, 1965-1966'', Black Sparrow, 1970. * ''The flower of having passed through paradise in a dream: poems, 1967'', Kelly, 1968

References

External links

"Kenneth Irby"
''Penn Sound''
University of Buffalo review of Irby's poems

Kenneth Irby
a
Poets & Writers
1936 births 2015 deaths University of California, Berkeley School of Information alumni Harvard University alumni University of Kansas faculty Academic staff of the University of Copenhagen University of Kansas alumni {{US-poet-1930s-stub