David ferry is a master not easy, not impossible, but incredibly satisfying. Lenore marshall poetry prize academy of american poets. Poet david ferry on writing verse, winning awards at 88 pbs. Winner of the national book award in 2012 for his collection bewilderment, ferry has long been lauded for his translations, among them virgils ecloguesbut it wasnt until 2006, at the age of 82, that he embarked on the monumental task of. Ferry is also a recipient of the harold morton landon translation award. Three years after that award, he is now finishing his translation of the aeneid. In 2000, ferrys book of new and selected poems and. Poets and the rebekah johnson bobbitt national prize for poetry from the. Wellesley professor emeritus wins national book award for poetry. The event will be held in the poetry center mildred f. To read david ferrys bewilderment is to be reminded that poetry of the highest order can be made by the subtlest of means. David ferry is the author of a number of books of poetry and has translated. Its wonderfully written, with excellent character development, and kept my attention from beginning to end. Celebrate national poetry month kitsap regional library.
David ferry, who, at the age of eightyeight, has just won the national book award for poetry, is a special kind of thief. David was a graduate of the national theatre school of canada 1973 and has his mfa in theatre directing from the university of victoria 2003, where he focused on the work of poetplaywright james reaney. David ferry, national book award winner for bewilderment, description orange night, a collaboration between internationally acclaimed artist, samuel bak, and poetauthor, carol dine, presents a unique dialogue on the subject of the holocaust. Please join the english department for an evening with david ferry as he reads his poems and translations. Winner of the national book award in 2012 for his collection bewilderment, ferry. Ferrys book, a collection of his own poems and translations of the latin verse of horace and virgil, was praised by the judges for its grace and profundity, spiritual wisdom and utilitarianism. National book award poetry kitsap regional library. David ferry reading his poems and translations suffolk.
On wednesday, november, national book awardwinning poet david ferry and critically acclaimed author jamaica kincaid will read from. Poet and translator, david ferry, is the recipient of the national book award, the lenore marshall poetry prize, and the harold morton landon translation award, among other honors the academy of american poets is the largest membershipbased nonprofit organization fostering an appreciation for contemporary poetry and supporting american poets. The prize includes a tenday residency at glen hollow in naples, new york, and distribution of the winning book to hundreds of academy of american poets members. The winners in each of the four categories fiction, nonfiction, poetry and young peoples literature will be announced on nov. New poems and translations is the winner of the 2012 national book award for poems. In 20, i corresponded with david ferry by phone to conduct a wideranging interview on his poetry, translations, and literary life. Rsvp here please note that your rsvp is requested but not required.
In addition to his lauded translations of the odes of horace and virgils the eclogues, georgics, and the aeneid, among other works, ferry is a prizewinning poet in his own right. The panelists are five writers who are known to be doing great work in their genre or field. News 11032017 national book award winner breathes life into aeneid, a show of rare books. Ferry is an emeritus professor at wellesley college and continues to teach at both boston university and suffolk university. Dan chiasson, the new yorker to read david ferrys bewilderment is to be reminded that poetry of the highest order can be made by the subtlest of means. An acclaimed american poet and translator, david ferry is a distinguished visiting scholar and the winner of the national book award 2012, the. Poet david ferry, a distinguished scholar in residence at suffolk university, has won the 2012 national book award in poetry for bewilderment. The connoisseurship of the word interview with david.
This book won the national book award last year, and rightly so. The winner of the 2012 national book award for poetry elegantly ponders the limits of language and life. Poet, professor, and translator david ferry was in his 80s when he started working on. A conversation with poet david ferry on the occasion. This book is not, itself, a winner of the national book award. David ferry wins 2000 rebekah johnson bobbitt national. And now it has been translated by our very best living translator from latin, poet david ferry. The category poetry was established in 1950 and has been awarded annually save. Katherine boo, louise erdrich, william alexander and david ferry. In this new work, the poets influences are resurrected, and his. Dstinguished poet and translator david ferry will give the annual theodore roethke memorial poetry reading at the roethke auditorium at kane hall there will be a reception with mr. Georgics, and the aeneid, among other works, ferry is a prizewinning poet in his. Congratulations to this years national book award winners. New poems and translations 2012, winner of the national book award.
Between 2005 and 2018, all of the medalists except leonard and allende have been previous national book award winners. Herewith the definitive interview with david ferry, winner of the 2012 national book award for his collection bewilderment. The first translation award ran from 19681983 and was for fiction only, the translated author could be living or dead eg. The 20 finalists for the 2012 national book awards were named this morning by david steinberger, chairman of the board of the national book foundation. Set in rhode island, winner of the national book award tells the story of twins who could not be more different. The lenore marshall poetry prize honors the memory of lenore marshall 18971971, a poet, novelist, essayist, and political activist. Writers jamaica kincaid and david ferry read at lewis center for. He won the national book award for poetry for his 2012 collection bewilderment. Poet david ferry on writing verse, winning awards at 88 youtube. Redeployment, a collection of stories about the iraq war and the struggles veterans face when they return, was this years winner of the national book award for fiction. He received a canada council grant to research a book on reaneys theatre theories. New poems and translations and was still at work on virgils aeneid which he. David ferry is the author of eight books of poetry, including bewilderment, winner of the 2012 national book award and praised in the new yorker as one of the great books of poetry of this young century. Its an interview that will surprise you, teach you and maybe change your life, especially if you are a poet.
A book of poems, by longtime wellesley college professor david ferry. David ferry won the national book award in his 80s. This is one of the great books of poetry of this young century. Poet of no country january 2001 library of congress. Sawyer library, third floor, 73 tremont street on tuesday, march 17th, at 7. The passionate nature and originality of ferrys prosodic daring works astonishing transformations that take your breath away. A conversation with poet david ferry on the occasion of. David ferry, sophie chantal hart professor emeritus at wellesley college, has been awarded the 2000 rebekah johnson bobbitt national prize for poetry for his book of no country i know. Jeffrey brown profiles david ferry, a poet concerned with making connections to classical literature. David ferry was born in orange, new jersey, in 1924. Ferry was recently honored with the ruth lilly poetry prize. In 2012, david ferry capped a long career as a poet with a national book award, given in honor of his book bewilderment.
Acclaimed poettranslator david ferrys latest collection, bewilderment, is an odd collection, in that the authors poems on the experiences of advanced age he is now 88 years old and his various translations from the latin. List of winners of the national book award wikipedia. More about this book poetry winner national book awards 2012. Poet david ferry on writing verse, reading poems, winning. Now complete, ferrys epic arrives already a major prize winner, as two excerpts from the thenworkinprogress appeared in ferrys bewilderment. He carries us to places we cant possibly visit, from the mesopotamia. In celebration of last nights ceremony, we wanted to look back at some of our coverage of the winners. David ferry is an acclaimed american poet, professor, and translator. National book award winner breathes life into aeneid, a. Five of the seventeen medalists through 2004 were previous national book award winners bellow, welty, mccullough, updike, and roth, all but mccullough for fiction.
University of chicago press honors poet and translator david ferry, whos latest work bewilderment. The passionate nature and originality of ferrys prosodic daring works astonishing transformations that. He had just won the national book award for bewilderment. Ferrys translations, which include some of the worlds major works of poetry are known for their fluency and grace. David ferry, a finalist for the national book critics circle award in poetry for his translation of gilgamesh in 1992, has translated the odes of horace, the eclogues of virgil, and the epistles of horace. In the video above, david ferry, acas lecturer in creative writing and winner of the lenore marshallpoetry prize, the bingham poetry prize, and the teasdale prize, reads from his translation of virgils aeneid ferry was one of eight faculty members to read from their works at theannual faculty reading, on december 3, 2007. The title of the book tells you all id want to share about the plot, because i hate giving details away, but be clear. Abigail mather is a woman of passionate sensual and sexual appetites, while her sister, the book loving local librarian dorcas, lives a quiet life of the mind. David ferry poet and translator, david ferry, is the recipient of the national book award, the lenore marshall poetry prize, and the harold morton. David ferry is the author of eight books of poetry, including bewilderment, winner of the 2012 national book award and praised in the new. He will be joined in conversation by rosanna warren. New poems and translations and was still at work on virgils aeneid which he published in 2018. Poet and translator david ferry, profiled by spencer. David ferry, a finalist for the national book critics circle award in poetry for his translation of gilgamesh, is a poet and translator who has also won the lenore marshall poetry prize, given by the academy of american poets, and the rebekah johnson bobbitt national prize for poetry, given by the library of congress.
He has published eight collections of his poetry and a volume of literary criticism. New poems and translations, winner of the 2012 national book award for poetry. The national book award for translated literature was inaugurated in 2018 for fiction or nonfiction, where both author and translator were alive at the beginning of the awards cycle. Ferry was recently honored with the ruth lilly poetry prize as well as the national book award for poetry. The national book award for poetry is one of five annual national book awards, which are given by the national book foundation to recognize outstanding literary work by us citizens.
New and selected poems and translations he won the lenore marshall poetry prize, given by the academy of american poets, and the rebekah. David ferry poet david ferry is an american poet, translator, and educator. In 2001, he received an award in literature from the american academy of arts. New and selected poems and translations 1999, university of chicago press. New poems and translations 2012, won the national book award. The national book foundation has presented its prestigious national book award for poetry to david ferry for his collection, bewilderment. To read david ferry s bewilderment is to be reminded that poetry of the highest order can be made by the subtlest of means. Aeneid poet, professor, and translator david ferry was in his 80s when he started working on the aeneid, virgils epic about the founding of rome.