Mischa Willett is an American poet and essayist best known for his work in the poetic elegy and for his academic championship of the Spasmodic poets.

Biography

Willett was born in Phoenix, Arizona, to a family associated with People's Church, an offshoot of the

Jesus movement The Jesus movement was an Evangelicalism, evangelical Christian movement which began on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s and primarily spread throughout North America, Europe, and Central America, before it su ...

. His childhood was spent moving around the west coast before he attended

Wheaton College (Illinois) Wheaton College is a Private college, private Evangelical, Evangelical Christian Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois. It was founded by evangelical abolitionists in 1860. Wheaton College was a ...

, where he studied under evangelical writers such as

Leland Ryken Leland Ryken (born May 17, 1942) is professor of English emeritus at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. He has contributed a number of works to the study of classic literature from the Christian perspective, including editing the comprehensive ...

and Alan Jacobs (academic). There he attended his first poetry readings by poets such as

Li-Young Lee Li-Young Lee (李立揚, pinyin: Lǐ Lìyáng) (born August 19, 1957) is an American poet. He was born in Jakarta, Indonesia, to Chinese parents. His maternal great-grandfather was Yuan Shikai, China's first Republican President, who attempted ...

Dana Gioia Michael Dana Gioia (; born December 24, 1950) is an American poet, literary critic, literary translator, and essayist. Since the early 1980s, Gioia has been considered part of the literary movements within American poetry known as New Formalis ...

, and

Jeanne Murray Walker Jeanne Murray Walker (born May 27, 1944) is an American poet and playwright. Life Jeanne Murray was born on May 27, 1944 in Parkers Prairie, Minnesota, the daughter of John Gerald and Erna Murray. In 1965, she won the Atlantic Monthly Award for ...

. After college, Willett moved to Flagstaff where he lived as a church

sexton (office) A sexton is an officer of a church, congregation, or synagogue charged with the maintenance of its buildings and/or the surrounding graveyard. In smaller places of worship, this office is often combined with that of verger. In larger buildings, ...

while completing a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree from

Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public research university based in Flagstaff, Arizona. It was founded in 1899 as the final public university established in the Arizona Territory, 13 years before Arizona was admitted as the 48th state. ...

. He moved back to the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

to complete an

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...

degree at

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

under the direction of

Richard Kenney (poet) Richard L. Kenney (born 1948) is a poet and professor of English at the University of Washington. He is the author of five books of poetry: ''The Evolution of the Flightless Bird'', ''Orrery'', ''The Invention of the Zero'', ''The One-Strand Ri ...

and

Linda Bierds Linda Louise Bierds (born 1945 in Delaware) is an American poet and professor of English and creative writing at the University of Washington, where she also received her B.A. in 1969. Her books include ''Flights of the Harvest Mare''; ''The Stil ...

. There, under the auspices of study abroad programs, he first began taking the trips to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

that would become a recurrent feature in his poetry. Willett stayed at University of Washington for a

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 a ...

focusing on

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

, during which time he first began to appreciate the Spasmodic poets. While writing his dissertation, he spent a year as scholar-in-residence at

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Wü ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

, where he gave a public poetry reading in the Hölderlinturm. There, he began work on the impressions of

Rainer Maria Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), shortened to Rainer Maria Rilke (), was an Austrian poet and novelist. He has been acclaimed as an idiosyncratic and expressive poet, and is widely recogni ...

that would form his second book, ''The Elegy Beta''. Willett is married to the choreographer Amber Willett. They have two children. Currently, Willett teaches on the English faculty at

Seattle Pacific University Seattle Pacific University (SPU) is a private Christian university in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1891 in conjunction with the Oregon and Washington Conference of the Free Methodist Church as the Seattle Seminary. It became the Seat ...

Academic career

Willett's published research focuses mainly on British Romantic poets such as

Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 17928 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achie ...

, and Spasmodic poets such as Alexander Smith, and

Philip James Bailey Philip James Bailey (22 April 1816 – 6 September 1902) was an English spasmodic poet, best known as the author of ''Festus''. Life Bailey was born on 22 April 1816 in Nottingham, the only son of Thomas Bailey by his first wife, Mary Taylor. ...

Published works

Poetry

''Phases'' is a book of largely religious poems that are often ironic or humorous. It was listed among the "Best Books 2017" by the ''Washington Independent Review of Books''. The poems have been compared stylistically to the poems of

Richard Wilbur Richard Purdy Wilbur (March 1, 1921 – October 14, 2017) was an American poet and literary translator. One of the foremost poets of his generation, Wilbur's work, composed primarily in traditional forms, was marked by its wit, charm, and gentle ...

and noted for their interest in Italian culture and classical civilizations. Willett's second book, ''The Elegy Beta'' is an extended meditation on angels as represented in

The Duino Elegies The ''Duino Elegies'' (german: Duineser Elegien) are a collection of ten elegy, elegies written by the Bohemian-Austrians, Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke. He was then "widely recognized as one of the most lyrically intense German-language po ...

. It was the first poetry book published by Mockingbird Press and was included among the ten best poetry books of 2020 by ''Relief Journal''. The book has been stylistically and thematically compared to the

Metaphysical poets The term Metaphysical poets was coined by the critic Samuel Johnson to describe a loose group of 17th-century English poets whose work was characterised by the inventive use of conceits, and by a greater emphasis on the spoken rather than lyrica ...

especially

John Donne John Donne ( ; 22 January 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under royal patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's ...

, and to

John Berryman John Allyn McAlpin Berryman (born John Allyn Smith, Jr.; October 25, 1914 – January 7, 1972) was an American poet and scholar. He was a major figure in American poetry in the second half of the 20th century and is considered a key figure in th ...

Essays

As an essayist, Willett writes on culture and religion in venues such as

The Gospel Coalition The Gospel Coalition, or TGC, is a union of evangelical and Reformed churches. History It was founded in 2005 by theologian D. A. Carson and pastor Tim Keller. TGC describe their mission as being “deeply committed to renewing our faith ...

, Mere Orthodoxy,

Cardus Cardus is a Canadian conservative think tank based in Hamilton, Ontario, which has described its mission as "the renewal of North American social architecture.", and bases its work upon a "Judeo-Christian social thought". It formally describes its ...

, The Curator, Front Porch Republic, and

First Things ''First Things'' (''FT'') is an ecumenical and conservative religious journal aimed at "advanc nga religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society". The magazine, which focuses on theology, liturgy, church history, religio ...

Bibliography

* Willett, Mischa. ''Phases''. Eugene, Oregon: Cascade Books, 2017. Print. * Willett, Mischa. ''The Elegy Beta: and Other Poems''. Charlottesville, VA: Mockingbird Ministries, 2020. Print. *Bailey, Philip James. ''Festus: An Epic Poem'', edited by Mischa Willett, Edinburgh UP, 2021. Print. ISBN 978-1474457811

References

External links

Mischa Willett's blog and website
* Poem
"Another Advent"
''Mockingbird'' *Poem
"Dice Will Land as They Will"
''Ekstasis Magazine'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Willett, Mischa 1978 births Living people Anglican poets Christian poets Wheaton College (Illinois) alumni Christian writers