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Florence Ai Ogawa

おがわ あい（フローレンス・アイ・オガワ）

Ogawa Ai (Florence Ai Ogawa)

Aliases: Florence Anthony / Florence Hayes / Ai
Pen Names: Ai（Pen name used since about 1969. Legally changed middle name to 'Ai' and surname to 'Ogawa' in 1973.）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1947-10-21 （Albany, Texas, United States）
Died
2010-03-20 （Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States） age 62
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Catholicism (attended Catholic school)
Residence History
Tucson, Arizona (grew up) → Los Angeles, California (lived) → Las Vegas, Nevada (lived) → San Francisco, California (lived) → Stillwater, Oklahoma (later residence and workplace)

Career

Occupations
Poet, Educator, Professor
Active Years
1970-2010
Affiliations
Oklahoma State University (professor; vice president of Native American Faculty and Staff Association), Binghamton University (visiting instructor, 1973–1974)
Memberships
Native American Faculty and Staff Association (Oklahoma State University), Academy of American Poets (associated)
Influenced By
Charles Wright, Donald Justice

Education

University of Arizona
English and Oriental Studies (concentration in Japanese) / Department of English / Oriental Studies
Degree: B.A. (学士)
Period: 1960年代（在籍期間の正確な年は不明）
Year of Graduation: 1969
Country: United States
Studied with a concentration in Japanese and a minor in Creative Writing.
University of California, Irvine (M.F.A. program)
Creative Writing (M.F.A.) / Creative Writing Department
Degree: M.F.A.
Period: 1969–1971
Year of Graduation: 1971
Country: United States
Studied under Charles Wright and Donald Justice.

Awards

National Book Award for Poetry
1999
Work: Vice: New and Selected Poems
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: Winner
American Book Award
1986
Work: Sin
Organization: Before Columbus Foundation
Result: Winner
Guggenheim Fellowship
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: Awarded
National Endowment for the Arts grant
Organization: National Endowment for the Arts
Result: Awarded
Bunting Fellowship (Radcliffe College)
Organization: Radcliffe College
Result: Awarded

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Cruelty

1973 Contemporary poetry

Early collection confronting violence and human cruelty.

violenceinterpersonal crueltymoral decay

Killing Floor

1979 Poetry collection

Contains works selected as the 1978 Lamont Poetry Selection; uses persona monologues to tell stories.

interior livespersona monologuescrime and violence

Sin

1986 Poetry collection

Explores violence and moral corruption; winner of an American Book Award.

sinviolencemorality

Fate

1991 Poetry collection

Uses historical subjects and character perspectives; deals with fate and memory.

historyfatememory

Greed

1993 Poetry collection

Collection centered on desire and greed.

desiresocial pressure

Vice: New and Selected Poems

1999 Poetry (New and Selected)

Selected and new poems compiled; won the 1999 National Book Award for Poetry.

violencemonologuevoices of the marginalized

Dread: Poems

2003 Poetry collection

Shows influence of family history and racial background; some poems fictionalize family figures.

family historyracedread

No Surrender

2010 Poetry (posthumous)

Published posthumously; contains late-period perspectives.

life and deathintegration of self

The Collected Poems of Ai

2013 Collected poems 448 pages

Comprehensive collected poems published in 2013 (edited volume).

compilation of major themes across career

Bibliography

  • Cruelty (1973)
  • Killing Floor (1979)
  • Sin (1986)
  • Fate (1991)
  • Greed (1993)
  • Vice: New and Selected Poems (1999)
  • Dread: Poems (2003)
  • No Surrender (2010)
  • The Collected Poems of Ai (2013)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
mastery of the dramatic monologuepersona poems written in first person as a form of actingfearless engagement with dark subject matter
Recurring Motifs
violencecrime and scandalvoices of the marginalizedhistory and family memory

Health

  • Breast cancer (stage 4)
    最終期（詳細な罹患開始年は不明）
    Hospitalized for pneumonia in March 2010 and died March 20, 2010 from complications of stage 4 breast cancer; illness affected late-life activity.
  • Pneumonia (hospitalization trigger)
    2010年3月（短期）
    Hospitalized in March 2010 and subsequently died from complications.

Legacy

Ai is regarded as a master of the dramatic monologue and noted for candidly addressing dark, provocative subjects. Her 1999 National Book Award brought wide recognition and she left a lasting mark on contemporary American poetry.

Academic Societies

  • Academy of American Poets (associated)
  • Native American Faculty and Staff Association (at Oklahoma State University)

Archives

  • Oklahoma State University archives (related materials)
  • University of Arizona Poetry Center (records and exhibits)

Quotes

  • I want to take the narrative 'persona' poem as far as I can, and I've never been one to do things in halves. All the way or nothing. I won't abandon that desire.
    Source: Interview (English)
  • Although much of my poetry is written in the first person, it is almost always someone else.
    Source: PBS interview and other interviews (1999)

Trivia

  • Born Florence Anthony; later legally changed her name to Florence Ai Ogawa.
  • Legally changed surname to Ogawa and middle name to 'Ai' in 1973.
  • Identified as of mixed heritage including Japanese, Choctaw-Chickasaw, Black, Irish, Cheyenne, and Comanche, but was not enrolled in any Native nation.
  • Began actively writing at age 14.
  • Won the 1999 National Book Award for Poetry for Vice: New and Selected Poems.