Will Alexander (born 1948) is an American poet, novelist, essayist, playwright, and visual artist. He was the recipient of a Whiting Fellowship for Poetry in 2001 and a

California Arts Council The California Arts Council is a state agency based in Sacramento, United States. Its eight council members are appointed by the Governor and the state Legislature. The agency's mission is to advance California through arts, culture and creativit ...

Fellowship in 2002.

Life

He earned a BA in English and creative writing from the University of California–Los Angeles in 1972. He has worked several jobs (including the LA Lakers box office), taught at various institutions, and has been associated with the nonprofit organization Theatre of Hearts/Youth First, working with underserved, at-risk youth. His work has appeared in '' BOMB'', ''

Boston Review ''Boston Review'' is an American quarterly political and literary magazine. It publishes political, social, and historical analysis, literary and cultural criticism, book reviews, fiction, and poetry, both online and in print. Its signature form ...

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Entropy Entropy is a scientific concept, as well as a measurable physical property, that is most commonly associated with a state of disorder, randomness, or uncertainty. The term and the concept are used in diverse fields, from classical thermodynam ...

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Chicago Review ''Chicago Review'' is a literary magazine founded in 1946 and published quarterly in the Humanities Division at the University of Chicago. The magazine features contemporary poetry, fiction, and criticism, often publishing works in translation and ...

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Denver Quarterly The ''Denver Quarterly'' (known as ''The University of Denver Quarterly'' until 1970) is an avant-garde literary journal based at the University of Denver. Founded in 1966 by novelist John Edward Williams. ''Publisher'' ''Denver Quarterly'' i ...

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Fence A fence is a structure that encloses an area, typically outdoors, and is usually constructed from posts that are connected by boards, wire, rails or netting. A fence differs from a wall in not having a solid foundation along its whole length. ...

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jubilat ''jubilat'' is a widely distributed, highly acclaimed American poetry and prose journal headquartered at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. First published in 2000, it was founded by Rob Casper, Christian Hawkey, Michael Teig and Kelly LeF ...

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The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper t ...

''. Alexander's poetry and his visual art have been greatly influenced by his readings of

Bob Kaufman Robert Garnell Kaufman (April 18, 1925 – January 12, 1986) was an American Beat poet and surrealist as well as a jazz performance artist and satirist. In France, where his poetry had a large following, he was known as the "black American ...

Octavio Paz Octavio Paz Lozano (March 31, 1914 – April 19, 1998) was a Mexican poet and diplomat. For his body of work, he was awarded the 1977 Jerusalem Prize, the 1981 Miguel de Cervantes Prize, the 1982 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, and ...

, and Francophone Negritude writers such as Aimé Cesaire and Jean-Joseph Rabéarivelo. Alexander describes their themes of cosmic isolation from society and interior discovery as an "alchemical metamorphosis". Much of his work is characterized by this powerful mix of metaphor and sophisticated language. According to the

Poetry Foundation The Poetry Foundation is an American literary society that seeks to promote poetry and lyricism in the wider culture. It was formed from ''Poetry'' magazine, which it continues to publish, with a 2003 gift of $200 million from philanthropist Ru ...

, his work is frequently described as ''surreal''.

Awards

* 2016 — Jackson Poetry Prize (awarded by

Poets & Writers Poets & Writers, Inc. is one of the largest nonprofit literary organizations in the United States serving poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers. The organization publishes a bi-monthly magazine called ''Poets & Writers Magazine'', ...

) * 2014 —

American Book Award The American Book Award is an American literary award that annually recognizes a set of books and people for "outstanding literary achievement". According to the 2010 awards press release, it is "a writers' award given by other writers" and "the ...

for ''Singing In Magnetic Hoofbeat: Essays, Prose, Texts, Interviews, and a Lecture'' * 2002 —

Fellowship * 2001 — Whiting Fellowship for Poetry

Works

*''Vertical Rainbow Climber'' (poems), Jazz Press, 1987. *''Arcane Lavender Morals'' (short fiction), Leave Books, 1994. *''The Stratospheric Canticles'' (poems), Pantograph Press, 1995. *''Asia & Haiti'' (two long poems), Sun & Moon Press, 1995. *''Above the Human Nerve Domain'' (poems), Pavement Saw Press, 1998. *''Towards the Primeval Lightning Field'' (philosophical essays), O Books, 1998. ; revised second edition published by Litmus Press, 2014. *''Exobiology as Goddess'' (two long poems), Manifest Press, 2004. *''Sunrise In Armageddon'' (three linked novellas), Spuyten Duyvil Press, 2006. *''Inalienable Recognitions'' (essays), Tract Series #4. eohippus labs, 2009. *''The Sri Lankan Loxodrome'' (one long and five short poems),

New Directions Publishing New Directions Publishing Corp. is an independent book publishing company that was founded in 1936 by James Laughlin and incorporated in 1964. Its offices are located at 80 Eighth Avenue in New York City. History New Directions was born in 19 ...

, 2009. *''On the Substance of Disorder'' (essays), arrot 7 Insert Press, 2010. *''Compression & Purity'' (poems), City Lights, 2011. *''Diary As Sin'' (novel), Skylight Press, 2011. *''Inside the Earthquake Palace: 4 Plays'' (theatre), Chax Press, 2011. *''Mirach Speaks to his Grammatical Transparents'' (philosophical essays), Oyster Moon Press, 2011. *''The Brimstone Boat - For Philip Lamantia'' (long poem from 2000, and essays), Rêve à Deux, 2012. *''Singing in Magnetic Hoofbeat: Essays, Prose Texts, Interviews and a Lecture 1991–2007'' (prose anthology), Essay Press, 2012. *''Kaleidoscopic Omniscience: Asia & Haiti/ The Stratospheric Canticles/ Impulse & Nothingness'' (poetry anthology), Skylight Press, 2012. *''The Transparent as Witness'' (collaborative prose), Will Alexander & Janice Lee. Solar Luxuriance, 2013. *''The Codex Mirror: 60 Drawings by Byron Baker & 60 Writings by Will Alexander'' (aphorisms), Anon Edition, 2015. *''Based on the Bush of Ghosts'' (long poem, chapbook), Staging Ground, 2015. *''Spectral Hieroglyphics: A Poetic Troika'' (three long poems), illustrated by Rik Lina. Rêve à Deux, 2016. *''Alien Weaving'' (novella) Anonymous Energy, 2016. *''Secrets Prior to the Sun'' (essay), White Print Inc, 2016. *''The Audiographic As Data'' (collaborative automatic writing), Will Alexander & Carlos Lara. Oyster Moon Press, 2016. *''At Night on the Sun'' (play), Chax Press, 2017. *''Colloquy at the Abyss'' (conversation with Harold Abramowitz), Insert Blanc Press, 2017. *''Across the Vapour Gulf'' (aphorisms), New Directions, 2017. *''Phosphenic Threadings'' (two short prose pieces), Evidence Publications, 2018. *''A Cannibal Explains Himself To Himself'' (essays), The Elephants, 2019. *''Dialogics'' (conversation with Heller Levinson), Concrete Mist Press, 2020. * ''The Combustion Cycle'' (three long poems), Roof Books, 2021. * ''Refractive Africa'' (three long poems), New Directions, 2021. . * ''Dialogics Volume 2'' (conversation with Heller Levinson), Anvil Tongue Books, 2022. * ''The Contortionist Whispers'' (essays), Action Books, 2022. * ''Divine Blue Light (for John Coltrane)'' (poems), City Lights, 2022. .

References

External links

Sound recordings of Will Alexander's verse published in the University of Pennsylvania's poetry archive, PennSound
published in ''The Prague Post''
Biography at international literature festival berlin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Will 20th-century African-American writers 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American poets 21st-century African-American writers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American poets 1948 births African-American male writers African-American poets American Book Award winners American male poets Living people PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award winners Poets from California Surrealist poets