David Baker (born December 27, 1954; Bangor, Maine) 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 wri ...

. He is Emeritus Professor of English at

Denison University Denison University is a private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio. One of the earliest colleges established in the former Northwest Territory, Denison University was founded in 1831. The college was first called the Granville Literary and ...

where he still teaches. He served for more than 25 years as poetry editor of 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 continues to curate "Nature's Nature" for the magazine.

Life

David Baker was born in Bangor, Maine, in 1954, and was raised in Missouri. He graduated from Central Missouri State University and from the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

with a Ph.D. in 1983. He has taught widely, including at

Jefferson City Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the capital of Missouri, United States. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 census, ranking as the 15th most populous city in the state. It is also the county seat of Cole County and the principa ...

(MO) Senior High School,

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 ...

, the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

, and since 1984 at

, in Granville, Ohio, where he held the Thomas B. Fordham Chair of Creative Writing and is Emeritus Professor of English. He teaches regularly in the MFA Program for Writers at

Warren Wilson College Warren Wilson College (WWC) is a private liberal arts college in Swannanoa, North Carolina. It is known for its curriculum that combines academics, work, and service as every student must complete a requisite course of study, work an on-campu ...

and serves on the faculty of many writing workshops around the country. His work has appeared in ''

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 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 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 ...

'',''

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 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 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'', ''

The Yale Review ''The Yale Review'' is the oldest literary journal in the United States. It is published by Johns Hopkins University Press. It was founded in 1819 as ''The Christian Spectator'' to support Evangelicalism. Over time it began to publish more on ...

.'' He lives in

Granville, Ohio Granville is a village in Licking County, Ohio, United States. The population was 5,646 at the 2010 census. The village is located in a rural area of rolling hills in central Ohio. It is east of Columbus, the state capital, and west of Newar ...

, and serves as Poetry Editor of ''The Kenyon Review''.

Awards

* 2011 Theodore Roethke Memorial Poetry Prize. * 2001

Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the a ...

. *

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 ...

, 2005 & 1985 *

Ohio Arts Council The Ohio Arts Council (OAC) is an agency serving the U.S. state of Ohio. History Established in 1965, its mission is to "foster and encourage the development of the arts and assist the preservation of Ohio's cultural heritage." Each year it awar ...

. * Poetry Society of America Lyric Prize. *

Society of Midland Authors The Society of Midland Authors is an association of published authors from twelve American states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. According to its constit ...

. * Pushcart Foundation.

Poetry Volumes

* ''Whale Fall'' (W. W. Norton, 2022) * ''Swift: New and Selected Poems'' (W. W. Norton, 2019) * ''Scavenger Loop'' (W. W. Norton, 2015) * ''Never-Ending Birds'' (W. W. Norton, 2009) * ''Omul Alchimic'' trans. by Chris Tanasescu (Vinea, 2009) * ''Treatise on Touch: Selected Poems'' (Arc Publications, 2007) * ''Midwest Eclogue'' (W. W. Norton, 2005) * ''Changeable Thunder'' (University of Arkansas, 2001) * ''The Truth about Small Towns'' (University of Arkansas, 1998) * ''After the Reunion'' (University of Arkansas, 1994) * ''Sweet Home, Saturday Night'' (University of Arkansas, 1991) * ''Haunts'' (Cleveland State University, 1985 * ''Laws of the Land,'' (Ahsahta/Boise State University 1981)

Prose Volumes

* ''Seek After: On Seven Modern Lyric Poets'' (Stephen F. Austin, 2018) * ''Show Me Your Environment: Essays on Poetry, Poets, and Poems'' (University of Michigan, 2014) * ''Talk Poetry: Poems and Interviews with Nine American Poets'' (University of Arkansas, 2010) * ''Radiant Lyre: Essays on Lyric Poetry'' (Graywolf, 2007) * ''Heresy and the Ideal: On Contemporary Poetry'' (University of Arkansas, 2000) * ''Meter in English: A Critical Engagement'' (University of Arkansas, 1996).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, David Writers from Bangor, Maine 1954 births Poets from Maine University of Central Missouri alumni University of Utah alumni University of Michigan faculty Denison University faculty Living people Poets from Ohio People from Granville, Ohio