Peter Meinke (born 1932 in Brooklyn, New York) is 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 ...

and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

. He has published 18 books of poems and short stories. ''The Piano Tuner'', won the 1986

Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction The Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction is an annual prize awarded by the University of Georgia Press named in honor of the American short story writer and novelist Flannery O'Connor. Established in 1983 to encourage young writers by bringi ...

. His poetry has received many awards, including two

NEA Fellowship 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 ...

s and three prizes 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 ...

. His work has appeared in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', ''

Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'', ''

Poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

''
Kalliope, A journal of women's art and literature
and other magazines. He is the current poet laureate of Florida and was appointed on June 15, 2015.

Biography

Raised in

Mountain Lakes, New Jersey Mountain Lakes is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States, and a suburb of New York City. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 4,160,Mountain Lakes High School Mountain Lakes High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grade from Mountain Lakes, in Morris County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the Mou ...

and was inducted into its hall of fame in 2016. Meinke and his wife, the artist Jeanne Clark, have lived in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

, since 1966. For 27 years, Meinke was a professor at

Eckerd College Eckerd College is a private liberal arts college in St. Petersburg, Florida. Founded in 1958, part of the campus is waterfront and beach on Boca Ciega Bay. Because of its location, Eckerd is considered a "beach school" and has its own student ...

, where he was a director of the EC Writing Workshop. In February 2004, he was inducted as a foundation member into the Eckerd College

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

chapter, Zeta of Florida. He also served on the faculty of the Eckerd College's Third Annual Writers in Paradise Conference in January 2007. From 2003 through 2005, he held the Darden Chair in Creative Writing at

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia with ...

Works

Meinke's published books include:A list of Meinke's books on Amazon.com
/ref> * ''Unheard Music: Stories'' (2007) * ''The Contracted World: New & More Selected Poems'' (2006) * ''Zinc Fingers: Poems A to Z'' (2000) * ''The Shape of Poetry: A Practical Guide to Writing Poetry'' (1999) * ''Scars'' (1996) * ''Campocorto (Sow's ear)'' (1996) * ''The Piano Tuner: Stories'' (1994) * ''Liquid Paper'' (1992) * ''Far from Home'' (1988) * ''Night Watch on the Chesapeake'' (1987) * ''Underneath the Lantern'' (1986) * ''Trying to Surprise God'' (1981) * ''The Rat Poems: Or, Rats Live On No Evil Star'' (1978) * ''The Night Train & The Golden Bird'' (1977) * ''Lines from Neuchatel'' (1974) * ''Very Seldom Animals'' (1969) * ''Howard Nemerov'' (1968) * ''The Legend of Larry, the Lizard'' (1968)

References

External links

"Come read along with us"
by Margo Hammond, ''St. Petersburg Times'', September 3, 2006.
"National poet laureate cancels Pasco reading"
by Lisa Buie, ''St. Petersburg Times'', April 26, 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Meinke, Peter 1932 births Living people Mountain Lakes High School alumni People from Mountain Lakes, New Jersey Poets from Florida Poets from New Jersey Writers from St. Petersburg, Florida Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction winners Eckerd College faculty 20th-century American poets 21st-century American poets Poets Laureate of Florida