William Harmon (born 1938) is James Gordon Hanes Professor Emeritus in the Humanities at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

, author of five books of poetry and editor of ''A Handbook to Literature''. His most recent poetry has appeared in ''Blink'' and ''

Light Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 te ...

''.

Life

William Harmon was born in

Concord, North Carolina Concord is the county seat and largest city in Cabarrus County, in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 105,186, with an estimated population in 2021 of 107,697. In terms of population, the cit ...

, a small cotton-mill town northeast of

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

. In 1954, at the age of sixteen, he entered the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

. He graduated in 1958. He was an officer on active duty with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

between 1960 and 1967, the last year of which was in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. As an adviser to the

South Vietnamese Navy The Republic of Vietnam Navy (RVNN; ; ''HQVNCH'') was the naval branch of the South Vietnamese military, the official armed forces of the former Republic of Vietnam (or South Vietnam) from 1955 to 1975. The early fleet consisted of boats fro ...

, he wrote its ''Standard Ship's Organization Manual''. He continued as a Reserve officer until 1980, reaching the rank of lieutenant commander. After returning to the United States, he pursued post-graduate work (focused predominantly on trans-Atlantic

modernist poetry Modernist poetry refers to poetry written between 1890 and 1950 in the tradition of modernist literature, but the dates of the term depend upon a number of factors, including the nation of origin, the particular school in question, and the biases ...

) at the

, where he earned his master's degree in 1968; the

, where he earned an additional master's the same year; and the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...

, where he earned his doctorate in 1970. His dissertation on Ezra Pound was published by the University of North Carolina Press in 1977. In 1970 he was hired by UNC Chapel Hill, where he remained on the faculty until 2008, when he retired. His first book of poetry, ''Treasury Holiday'', was published in 1970 by

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...

Press and became the

Lamont Poetry Selection The Academy of American Poets is a national, member-supported organization that promotes poets and the art of poetry. The nonprofit organization was incorporated in the state of New York in 1934. It fosters the readership of poetry through outreach ...

of the year. His most recent collection of poetry, ''Mutatis Mutandis: 27 Invoices'', won 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 ...

's William Carlos Williams Award in 1985. Harmon has been donating an extensive set of correspondences (over 10,000 items, deemed the William Harmon Papers) to the Southern Historical Collection at Wilson Library (located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina). The letters document Harmon's discussions with a range of other poets including

A.R. Ammons Archibald Randolph Ammons (February 18, 1926 – February 25, 2001) was an American poet who won the annual National Book Award for Poetry in 1973 and 1993. Poetic themes Ammons wrote about humanity's relationship to nature in alternately comic ...

, John Ashbery,

Robert Bly Robert Elwood Bly (December 23, 1926 – November 21, 2021) was an American poet, essayist, activist and leader of the mythopoetic men's movement. His best-known prose book is '' Iron John: A Book About Men'' (1990), which spent 62 weeks on ' ...

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 ...

John Hollander John Hollander (October 28, 1929 – August 17, 2013) was an American poet and literary critic. At the time of his death, he was Sterling Professor Emeritus of English at Yale University, having previously taught at Connecticut College, Hunter ...

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

Robert Penn Warren Robert Penn Warren (April 24, 1905 – September 15, 1989) was an American poet, novelist, and literary critic and was one of the founders of New Criticism. He was also a charter member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers. He founded the liter ...

Works

Poetry *''Mutatis Mutandis: 27 Invoices'' (1985) *''One Long Poem'' (1982) *''The Intussusception of Miss Mary America'' (1976) *''Legion: Civic Choruses'' (1973) *''Treasury Holiday : Thirty-Four Fits for the Opening of the Fiscal Year'' (1970) Edited Reference Works *''A Handbook to Literature'' (5th - 12th Editions) (1984 - 2011) *''Classic Writings on Poetry'' (2005) *''The Classic Hundred: All-Time Favorite Poems'' (2nd Edition) (1998) *''The Top 500 Poems'' (1992) *''The Oxford book of American light verse'' (1979) Literary Criticism *''Time in Ezra Pound's Work'' (1977) *''The Poetry Toolkit'' (2012)

External links

Inventory of the William Harmon Papers
in the Southern Historical Collection, UNC-Chapel Hill.
The Companion Website for A Handbook to Literature
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harmon, William 1938 births Living people American male poets Poets from North Carolina United States Navy officers University of Chicago alumni University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty