Allen Turner Cassity (January 12, 1929 in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, along with Raymond. The city had a population of 153,701 at t ...

– July 26, 2009 in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

) 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 wri ...

, playwright, and

short story writer A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

Life

He was the son of Dorothy and Allen Cassity, and grew up in Jackson and

Forest, Mississippi Forest is a city and the county seat of Scott County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 5,684 at the 2010 census and the population is a minority-majority. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total a ...

. He graduated from

Millsaps College Millsaps College is a private liberal arts college in Jackson, Mississippi. It was founded in 1890 and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. History The college was founded in 1889–90 by a Confederate veteran, Major Reuben Webste ...

and Stanford University with a master's degree. Cassity was drafted into the United States Army and stationed in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

from 1952 to 1954. He attended

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

on the GI Bill. He worked at the Robert W. Woodruff Library at

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

, from 1962 to 1991, and also taught poetry there. He is buried in

. His papers are at

Awards

* Georgia Author of the Year Award from the Georgia Writers Association. * Levinson Prize for Poetry, for ''Devils and Islands'' * Michael Braude Award of the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...

Ingram Merrill Foundation The Ingram Merrill Foundation was a private foundation established in the mid-1950s by poet James Merrill (1926-1995), using funds from his substantial family inheritance.J. D. McClatchyBraving the Elements ''The New Yorker'', 27 March 1995. Retrie ...

Award *

National Endowment for the Arts 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 ...

Grant

Works

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Verse plays

* ''Silver Out of Shanghai'' (1973) * ''The Book of Alna'' (1985)

Anthologies

* * *

Criticism

* *

''Ploughshares''

* *

References

External links

"Turner Cassity Tribute (Guest Features Editor - Suzanne J. Doyle)", ''Able Muse'', December, 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cassity, Turner 1929 births 2009 deaths 20th-century American poets 20th-century American male writers American male poets Millsaps College alumni Stanford University alumni Columbia University School of Library Service alumni Writers from Jackson, Mississippi People from Forest, Mississippi United States Army soldiers