Daniel Mark Epstein (born October 25, 1948) is an American poet, dramatist, and biographer. His poetry has been noted for its erotic and spiritual lyricism, as well as its power—in several dramatic monologues—in capturing crucial moments of American history. While he has continued to publish poetry he is more widely known for his biographies of

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

Edna St. Vincent Millay Edna St. Vincent Millay (February 22, 1892 – October 19, 1950) was an American lyrical poet and playwright. Millay was a renowned social figure and noted feminist in New York City during the Roaring Twenties and beyond. She wrote much of he ...

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

and

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

, and his radio plays, "Star of Wonder," and "The Two Menorahs," which have become holiday mainstays on

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

Early life

Daniel Mark Epstein was born in

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, the son of businessman Donald David Epstein, and Louise Tillman, a homemaker. His younger sister is the journalist Linda Stevens. Epstein grew up in West Hyattsville, Maryland, suburban Washington, and his mother's home town of

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on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Many of his poems, plays, and short stories are inspired by life in Dorchester County and Vienna in the mid-twentieth century. He began writing poetry when he was in grade school. Some poems he wrote in his early teens came to the attention of Elliot Coleman, the legendary founder of the Writing Seminars at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

. Coleman invited him to Baltimore, and offered advice and encouragement. Epstein was educated in the public schools of Prince George's County and at Kenyon College where he worked with poet

John Crowe Ransom John Crowe Ransom (April 30, 1888 – July 3, 1974) was an American educator, scholar, literary critic, poet, essayist and editor. He is considered to be a founder of the New Criticism school of literary criticism. As a faculty member at Kenyon ...

, graduating with Highest Honors in English in the 1970s. He briefly attended graduate school at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

with the support of a

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

and

Danforth Foundation The Danforth Foundation was one of the largest private nonprofit foundations in the St. Louis Metropolitan region. It closed its doors in 2011 after 84 years of operation and more than a billion dollars in grants distributed. Background Establish ...

grant, but left after a semester to pursue a career as a writer.

1970s

Epstein quickly established his reputation as a poet in the early 1970s by publishing poems 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 ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

The Kenyon Review ''The Kenyon Review'' is a literary magazine based in Gambier, Ohio, US, home of Kenyon College. ''The Review'' was founded in 1939 by John Crowe Ransom, critic and professor of English at Kenyon College, who served as its editor until 1959. ' ...

'', and other prominent journals. These were collected in the volume '' No Vacancies in Hell'', published by Liveright in 1973. The success of this first book, a second book of poems titled '' The Follies'', and his verse drama '' Jenny and the Phoenix'', produced at the

Baltimore Theatre Project The Baltimore Theatre Project is a performing arts center located at 45 West Preston Street in Baltimore, Maryland. Early years The Baltimore Theatre Project was founded in 1971 by Philip Arnoult as an appendage to Antioch University. Such dive ...

in 1977, drew the attention 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 ...

. They awarded Epstein the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

(Rome Prize) that year. During his fellowship at the

American Academy in Rome The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo (Janiculum Hill) in Rome. The academy is a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers. History In 1893, a group of American architects, ...

he wrote more verse drama as well as many of the poems that would be included in '' The Book of Fortune'', published in 1982. While Epstein was still in Italy his third book, '' Young Men's Gold'', was published to wide acclaim, one critic calling the title poem "quite possibly the best long poem since Ginsberg's '

Howl Howl most often refers to: *Howling, an animal vocalization in many canine species *Howl (poem), a 1956 poem by Allen Ginsberg Howl may also refer to: Film * ''The Howl'', a 1970 Italian film * ''Howl'' (2010 film), a 2010 American arthouse b ...

' " and the reviewer from ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...

'' comparing the love poems to those of John Donne. He returned to America in 1979 as one of the most widely read poets of his generation. He was soon under contract to the Keedick agency for a speaking tour, with Oxford University Press to translate

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars a ...

, and accepted a position as visiting Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University. '' Jenny and the Phoenix'' was optioned by

Joseph Papp Joseph Papp (born Joseph Papirofsky; June 22, 1921 – October 31, 1991) was an American theatrical producer and director. He established The Public Theater in what had been the Astor Library Building in Lower Manhattan. There Papp created ...

for production at

The Public Theatre The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American L ...

in New York. In Baltimore he became active in a vibrant poetry scene that included such poets as

Lucille Clifton Lucille Clifton (June 27, 1936 – February 13, 2010) was an American poet, writer, and educator from Buffalo, New York. From 1979 to 1985 she was Poet Laureate of Maryland. Clifton was a finalist twice for the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. Li ...

, Anselm Hollo, Andrei Codrescu, and David Franks.

1980s

Epstein taught poetry and playwriting at the Johns Hopkins Seminars until 1982. While he continued teaching part time, at Randolph Macon,

Towson State University Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its founding, the university h ...

, and The Maryland College Institute of Art, his ongoing work in the theatre and a contract to write a textbook for D.C. Heath made an academic career impractical. The failure of Epstein's Off-Broadway play '' The Midnight Visitor'' in 1981 darkened his prospects as a playwright. In the mid-eighties he began publishing prose essays and short stories that were popularly syndicated and anthologized. The first of these, "'' Star of Wonder''", about a boy whose parents insist upon celebrating both

Hanukah or English translation: 'Establishing' or 'Dedication' (of the Temple in Jerusalem) , nickname = , observedby = Jews , begins = 25 Kislev , ends = 2 Tevet or 3 Tevet , celebrations = Lighting candles each night. ...

and

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

inspired hundreds of passionate letters in a dozen city newspapers when it first appeared in syndication. Later broadcast yearly on NPR's ''

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

'', it became one of the best known holiday stories since "'' A Christmas Carol''". "'' Star of Wonder''" is the title story of a collection of holiday tales published in 1986. On the strength of that book the author secured a two-book contract with '' Addison and Wesley: To Write an Autobiography'', '' Love's Compass'', and a biography of the evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, '' Sister Aimee''. The publication of these books, the first in 1990 and the second in 1993, offered the poet a chance at a second career, as a biographer and historian.

1990s

While much of Epstein's best poetry was published in the 1980s and 1990s (''Spirits'', '' The Boy in the Well'') his poetry has been eclipsed by the success of the biographies of Sister Aimee,

, and

. Epstein was welcomed as a sympathetic and fair biographer, with an instinct for the fine detail and historical milieu; his biographies are considered in some cases definitive, but in all cases important contributions to American studies. Critics sometimes challenge the biographer's premises.

Eric Foner Eric Foner (; born February 7, 1943) is an American historian. He writes extensively on American political history, the history of freedom, the early history of the Republican Party, African-American biography, the American Civil War, Reconstruc ...

, in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', praised '' Lincoln and Whitman'' for its "revealing character study of Whitman and a penetrating analysis of his wartime poetry," but questioned the poet's influence on Lincoln's prose. All of these books were reviewed in the major media—the Nat King Cole biography on the cover of ''

The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

'' section—and have remained in print through multiple editions. During this decade, as in the 1980s, Epstein contributed a number of book reviews to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'', and other newspapers. He also published translations of

Plautus Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the ...

's '' Trinummus'' from the Latin, and

' The ''

Bacchae ''The Bacchae'' (; grc-gre, Βάκχαι, ''Bakchai''; also known as ''The Bacchantes'' ) is an ancient Greek tragedy, written by the Athenian playwright Euripides during his final years in Macedonia, at the court of Archelaus I of Macedon. ...

'' from the Greek.

2000–2010

Most of this period was devoted to the writing of a trilogy of books about

. '' Lincoln and Whitman'' (2004), a dual biography of the poet and the president was praised by ''

'' and ''

'' for its "natural sense of detail and period" and its "passionate vividness." '' The Lincolns: Portrait of a Marriage'' (2008) was named one of the ten best books of the year by the ''

Chicago Sun Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'' and ''

'', whose reviewer remarked it "may be the best Lincoln book in a generation." Epstein's short book on Lincoln's private secretaries, '' Lincoln's Men'', was published the following year.

2011–present

An amateur musician, the writer returned to the subject of music, and his life-long passion for folk music in particular, to write the biography of

on the occasion of the folk rock idol's seventieth birthday. Published in 2011 it was the first of Epstein's books to reach an extensive international audience, in editions published in English, French, Italian, Portuguese, and other languages. For many years Epstein was researching and writing a book about

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

's relationship with his son William, the last royal governor of New Jersey. ''The Loyal Son: The War in Ben Franklin's House'' (Ballantine/Random House) was finally published in 2018. The reviewer in the ''Wall Street Journal'' wrote that “The history of loyalist William Franklin and his famous father has been told before but not as fully or as well as it is by Daniel Mark Epstein in ''The Loyal Son''. Mr. Epstein, a biographer and poet, has done a lot of fresh research and invests his narrative with literary grace and judicious sympathy for both father and son. . . . " In a starred review in ''Kirkus'', the critic said: “A gripping history of a family torn apart by political upheaval . . . Drawing on much unpublished correspondence as well as published works, the author constructs a fast-paced, vivid narrative with a host of characters whose appearance and personality he etches with deft concision. . . . A perceptive, gritty portrayal of the frenzy of war and a father and son caught at its tumultuous center.” ''Dawn to Twilight: New and Selected Poems 1967-2014'' was published by Louisiana State University Press in 2015. The book achieved international acclaim when it was published in Italy as ''Dall'alba al crepuscolo'' (Raffaelli Editore, Rimini, 2020) translated by Simone Dubrovic. The critic in Italy's most prominent newspaper ''Corriere della Sera'', Daniele Piccini wrote: "The art of American poet Daniel Mark Epstein was born mature.... The crystalline voice of things that arises out of his verses--always chiselled and metrically refined--becomes one with the poet's reflection on the fate of human beings." The Italian translation of “Water Lillies,” from Epstein's sequence “Homage to Mallarme,” inspired the harp sonata “Le Ninfee,” by Harpist Emanuela Battigelli. The new work was recorded on Battigelli’s CD ''Le Ninfee'' (Artesuono, 2020). In April of 2020 Epstein composed a cycle of sonnets "written in ten days from April 5-15, during the first shelter-in-place orders of the coronavirus pandemic...that explore the themes of isolation, danger, and the strangeness of our new reality," in his own words. The poems became the text for a film titled ''Cruel April: Poems from the Pandemic'', directed by Douglas Trapp and starring actors Tyne Daly, Jennifer Van Dyck, Paul Hecht, and Harris Yulin. The actors recite the poems over a montage of art and photography from the Tivoli Gallery, New York. The short film may b
viewed online
In March of 2022 Yale University Press published ''Rapture and Melancholy'', Epstein's edition of Edna St. Vincent Millay's diaries with an introduction and extensive commentary. "Seven decades after Millay's death," said the ''New York Times'', ''Rapture and Melancholy'' paints a picture of artistic triumph, romantic tumult, and a daily life that descended into addiction." Abigail Deutch, writing in the Wall Street Journal, wrote: “Rapture and Melancholy... provides an occasion to revisit not just Millay's improbable life but also her sometimes revelatory work. . . . While the diary entries vary widely in interest level, Epstein’s biographical summations are reliably fascinating and informative. . . . " In an interview with Mara Meisel of the ''Pittsburgh Press'' in 1984 Epstein said: "I always had confidence that poetry was the most important thing in my life…No great poet has not had an extraordinary command of the language, all of history and the manners and morals of his age. How are you going to say something that's going to be significant to people if you aren't well-grounded in history and in a broad sense of human nature?"Mara Meisel, "Guest Poet Knows Hard, Lonely Fight Against Self-doubt," ''

The Pittsburgh Press ''The Pittsburgh Press'' (formerly ''The Pittsburg Press'' and originally ''The Evening Penny Press'') was a major afternoon daily newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1884 to 1992. At one time, the ''Press'' was the second larg ...

'', February 1, 1984 In April of 2022 the poet received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters degree from Kenyon College.

Personal life

In 1976 he was married to Wendy Roberts. They had two children, Johanna Ruth Epstein and Benjamin Robert Epstein. They were divorced in 1993. Epstein married Jennifer Bishop in 1993, and they had two sons, Theodore John and Nathaniel David Epstein. Epstein and Bishop were divorced in 2012. Since the early 1970s Epstein has been an active member of B'nai Israel Synagogue in Baltimore.

Books

* '' No Vacancies In Hell'' (poetry) Liveright/

Norton Norton may refer to: Places Norton, meaning 'north settlement' in Old English, is a common place name. Places named Norton include: Canada * Rural Municipality of Norton No. 69, Saskatchewan *Norton Parish, New Brunswick **Norton, New Brunswick, a ...

, 1973 * '' The Follies'' (poetry)

Overlook A scenic viewpoint – also called an observation point, viewpoint, viewing point, vista point, lookout, scenic overlook,These terms are more commonly used in North America. etc. – is an elevated location where people can view scenery (often ...

Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquir ...

, 1977 * '' Young Men's Gold'' (poetry)

, 1978 * '' The Book of Fortune'' (poetry)

, 1982 * '' Star of Wonder'' (stories and essays)

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

1986 * ''Spirits'' (poetry)

1987 * '' Love's Compass'' (essays)

Addison-Wesley Addison-Wesley is an American publisher of textbooks and computer literature. It is an imprint of Pearson PLC, a global publishing and education company. In addition to publishing books, Addison-Wesley also distributes its technical titles throu ...

, 1989 * '' Sister Aimee: the Life of Aimee Semple McPherson'',

Harcourt Brace Harcourt () was an American publishing firm with a long history of publishing fiction and nonfiction for adults and children. The company was last based in San Diego, California, with editorial/sales/marketing/rights offices in New York City a ...

, 1993 * '' The Trinummus of Plautus'' (translation) Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994 * '' The Boy in the Well'' (poetry)

, 1995 * '' The Bacchae of Euripides'' (translation)

University of Pennsylvania Press The University of Pennsylvania Press (or Penn Press) is a university press affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The press was originally incorporated with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on 26 M ...

, 1997 * ''

'' (biography)

Farrar, Straus and Giroux Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer ...

, 1999 * '' What Lips My Lips Have Kissed: Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay'' Holt, 2001 * '' The Traveler's Calendar'' (poetry)

Penguin Putnam Penguin Group is a British trade book publisher and part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. The new company was created by a merger that was finalised on 1 July 2013, with Bertelsmann initially ...

, 2002 * '' Lincoln and Whitman: Parallel Lives in Civil War Washington'',

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

, 2004 * '' The Lincolns: Portrait of a Marriage'', Ballantine/

, 2004 * '' Literary Genius: 25 Classic Writers Who Define English & American Literature'', Paul Dry Books, 2007 (Illustrated by Barry Moser) * '' The Glass House: New Poems'', LSU Press, 2009 * '' Lincoln's Men: The President and His Private Secretaries'',

Harper Collins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Corp ...

, 2009 * '' The Ballad of Bob Dylan'',

Harper Harper may refer to: Names * Harper (name), a surname and given name Places ;in Canada * Harper Islands, Nunavut *Harper, Prince Edward Island ;In the United States *Harper, former name of Costa Mesa, California in Orange County * Harper, Il ...

, 2011 * ''Dawn to Twilight: New and Selected Poems'', Louisiana State University Press, 2015 * ''The Loyal Son: The War in Ben Franklin's House'', Ballantine/Random House, 2018 * ''Rapture and Melancholy: The Diaries of Edna St. Vincent Millay'', Yale University Press, 2022

Magazines (poems published in)

* ''

The American Scholar "The American Scholar" was a speech given by Ralph Waldo Emerson on August 31, 1837, to the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Harvard College at the First Parish in Cambridge in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was invited to speak in recognition of his gro ...

'' *

The 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, ...

The Hudson Review ''The Hudson Review'' is a quarterly journal of literature and the arts. History It was founded in 1947 in New York, by William Arrowsmith, Joseph Deericks Bennett, and George Frederick Morgan. The first issue was introduced in the spring of 194 ...

* The Michigan Quarterly *

The New Criterion ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

The North American Review The ''North American Review'' (NAR) was the first literary magazine in the United States. It was founded in Boston in 1815 by journalist Nathan Hale and others. It was published continuously until 1940, after which it was inactive until revived ...

The Paris Review ''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published works by Jack Kerouac, Phil ...

Poetry Magazine ''Poetry'' (founded as ''Poetry: A Magazine of Verse'') has been published in Chicago since 1912. It is one of the leading monthly poetry journals in the English-speaking world. Founded by Harriet Monroe, it is now published by the Poetry Foundati ...

* The Virginia Quarterly, et al.''

Fellowships

Woodrow Wilson Fellowship The Institute for Citizens & Scholars (formerly known as the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation) is a nonpartisan, non-profit based in Princeton, New Jersey that aims to strengthen American democracy by “cultivating the talent, ideas, ...

(Individual Study Grant), 1971 *

Danforth Fellowship The Danforth Foundation was one of the largest private nonprofit foundations in the St. Louis Metropolitan region. It closed its doors in 2011 after 84 years of operation and more than a billion dollars in grants distributed. Background Establishe ...

, University of Virginia, 1971 *

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 ...

, Fellowship in Poetry, 1974 * Guggenheim Fellowship, 1984 * Richard L. Thomas Chair in Creative Writing,

Kenyon College Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio. It was founded in 1824 by Philander Chase. Kenyon College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Kenyon has 1,708 undergraduates enrolled. Its 1,000-acre campus is ...

, 2012 * Patrick Henry Fellowship, 2014

Awards

, The American Academy and National Institute of Arts and Letters, 1978 * Emily Clark Balch Award, for best poem of 1981, from ''The Virginia Quarterly'', 1981 * ''The New York Times'' Notable Book, for ''Nat King Cole'', 1999 * New York Public Library Honoree, "Books to Remember" for ''What Lips My Lips Have Kissed'', 2001 * Maryland Library Association's Author of the Year, 2002 * Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement,

, 2006

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Epstein, Daniel Mark 1948 births American biographers American male biographers American male poets Kenyon College alumni Poets from Washington, D.C. Living people Translators of Ancient Greek texts