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B. H. Fairchild

ビー・エイチ・フェアチャイルド

B. H. Fairchild

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1942-01-01 （Houston, Texas, United States）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Claremont, California, United States → Small oil-field towns in Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas

Career

Occupations
poet, college professor (former)
Active Years
1980-
Affiliations
California State University, San Bernardino (faculty), Claremont Graduate University (faculty), The University of North Texas (visiting/teaching)

Awards

Beatrice Hawley Award
1997
Work: The Art of the Lathe
Organization: Alice James Books
Result: winner
Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award
1999
Work: The Art of the Lathe
Organization: Kingsley Tufts Foundation
Result: winner
William Carlos Williams Award
1999
Work: The Art of the Lathe
Organization: Poetry Society/American Poetry/ Related organization
Result: winner
California Book Award (Gold Medal in Poetry)
2005
Work: Early Occult Memory Systems of the Lower Midwest
Category: 詩
Organization: California Book Awards
Result: winner
National Book Critics Circle Award
2002
Work: Early Occult Memory Systems of the Lower Midwest
Organization: National Book Critics Circle
Result: winner
National Book Award (finalist)
1998
Work: The Art of the Lathe
Organization: National Book Award
Result: finalist
Guggenheim Fellowship
1999
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: fellowship
Rockefeller Fellowship
2000
Organization: Rockefeller Foundation
Result: fellowship
National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship
1988
Category: 詩
Organization: National Endowment for the Arts
Result: fellowship
The Paterson Poetry Prize
2015
Work: The Blue Buick
Organization: The Paterson Poetry Prize
Result: winner
Pushcart Prize (Poetry)
2014
Work: The Story
Organization: Pushcart Press
Result: winner
Pushcart Prize (Essay)
2011
Work: Logophilia
Organization: Pushcart Press
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Art of the Lathe

1998 poetry

A collection of poems about factories, laborers, family and memory. Noted for its plainspoken voice and lyricism; became Fairchild's breakthrough collection.

laborfamilymemoryMidwestern landscape

Early Occult Memory Systems of the Lower Midwest

2003 poetry

A poetic exploration of folk memory and buried histories of the American Midwest. Received critical acclaim and several awards.

folk memorymemoryhistory

Usher

2009 poetry

A collection weaving personal reminiscence with historical perspective; characterized by narrative construction and close observation.

memoryfamilyhistory

The Blue Buick: New and Selected Poems

2014 poetry (new and selected)

A volume of selected and new poems including landmark pieces; contains narrative-driven poems from the viewpoint of ordinary lives.

everyday lifenostalgiawork

An Ordinary Life

2023 poetry

A late-career collection reflecting on ordinary life and reminiscence; marked by plain, attentive narration.

remembranceeveryday lifefamily

Bibliography

  • An Ordinary Life (2023)
  • The Blue Buick: New and Selected Poems (2014)
  • Usher (2009)
  • Local Knowledge (2005 / 1991)
  • Early Occult Memory Systems of the Lower Midwest (2003)
  • The Arrival of the Future (2000 / 1985)
  • The Art of the Lathe (1998)
  • Such Holy Song: Music as Idea, Form, and Image in the Poetry of William Blake (1980) — literary criticism
  • Various chapbooks (The System of Which the Body Is One Part, Flight, C & W Machine Works, etc.)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
plainspoken, conversational voicelyrical and elegiac tonesnarrative-driven poetry
Recurring Motifs
machines and factoriesmemory and reminiscenceMidwestern landscapefamily and labor

Legacy

B. H. Fairchild is highly regarded for his plainspoken poetry about labor and memory; his breakthrough The Art of the Lathe in the late 1990s brought him international attention. He has received numerous major awards and fellowships and is considered an important figure in contemporary American poetry.

Quotes

  • “It's very simple: without an NEA Fellowship in 1989–90, I would not have been able to complete my second book, Local Knowledge, nor have had the necessary time to compose the core poems for The Art of the Lathe.”
    Source: National Endowment for the Arts — Writer's Corner: B.H. Fairchild (2006)

Trivia

  • Worked through high school and college for his father, a lathe machinist.
  • Lives in Claremont, California with his wife Patti and dog Minnie.
  • The Art of the Lathe (winner of the 1997 Beatrice Hawley Award) brought him national and international recognition.