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Bruce Weigl

ブルース・ワイグル

Bruce Weigl

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1949-01-27 （Lorain, Ohio, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Lorain, Ohio, U.S. → Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. → Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S. → Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. → State College / University Park, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Career

Occupations
Poet, Educator, Translator
Active Years
1976-
Affiliations
Lorain County Community College (instructor; later distinguished professor), University of Arkansas at Little Rock (assistant professor of English), Old Dominion University (assistant professor of English), Pennsylvania State University (associate professor; later professor), Association of Writers & Writing Programs (served as president)
Memberships
Association of Writers & Writing Programs (member; served as president)
Nominations
Pulitzer Prize nomination: Song of Napalm (1988)

Education

Oberlin College
English
Degree: BA
Period: 1970年代（復員後）
Country: United States
Bachelor's degree obtained after military service
University of New Hampshire
Writing / American and British Literature
Degree: MA
Period: 1970年代
Country: United States
Completed MA in Writing/American and British Literature
University of Utah
English / Creative Writing
Degree: PhD
Period: 1970年代（修了 1979）
Year of Graduation: 1979
Country: United States
Received PhD in 1979

Awards

Bronze Star
1968
Organization: United States Army
Result: 受章
American Academy of Poets prize
1979
Organization: American Academy of Poets
Result: 受賞
Pushcart Prize
Organization: Pushcart Press
Result: 受賞（2回）
Bread Loaf Fellowship in Poetry
1981
Organization: Bread Loaf Writers' Conference
Result: フェローシップ
National Endowment for the Arts grant
1988
Organization: National Endowment for the Arts
Result: 助成
Lannan Literary Award for Poetry
2006
Organization: Lannan Foundation
Result: 受賞
Robert Creeley Award
2011
Organization: Robert Creeley Foundation
Result: 受賞
Pulitzer Prize in Poetry (finalist)
2013
Work: The Abundance of Nothing
Organization: Pulitzer Prize Board
Result: ファイナリスト

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

A Romance

1979 Poetry

Early collection of poems addressing war experience and Midwestern landscapes.

WarMemoryMidwestern landscape

The Monkey Wars

1984 Poetry

A collection juxtaposing Midwestern settings with battlefield memories; notable for narrative voice.

MemoryViolencePersonal and historical trauma

Song of Napalm

1988 Poetry

A highly regarded collection directly engaging with Vietnam War experiences.

Vietnam WarSuffering of warRedemption

Archeology of the Circle: New and Selected Poems

1999 Poetry

A collection combining new poems with selected earlier work, bridging past motifs with present perspective.

MemoryTimeHealing

The Circle of Hanh: A Memoir

2000 Memoir

Memoir recounting Vietnam War experiences, personal life, and his relationship with his adopted daughter Hạnh.

ReminiscenceParent-child relationshipInheritance of trauma

The Abundance of Nothing

2012 Poetry

A book of poems exploring the aftermath of war and memory; finalist for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry.

LossMemoryAftermath of war

Among Elms, in Ambush

2021 Poetry

A recent collection revisiting war and personal history from a mature perspective.

Perspective of agingMemoryReconciliation

Bibliography

  • Executioner (1976)
  • Like a Sack Full of Old Quarrels (1976)
  • A Romance (1979)
  • The Monkey Wars (1984)
  • Song of Napalm (1988)
  • What Saves Us (1992)
  • Sweet Lorain (1996)
  • Archeology of the Circle: New and Selected Poems (1999)
  • After the Others (1999)
  • The unraveling strangeness: poems (2002)
  • Declension in the village of Chung Luong (2006)
  • The Abundance of Nothing (2012)
  • Among Elms, in Ambush (2021)
  • The Circle of Hanh: A Memoir (2000)
  • Poems from Captured Documents (translation, 1994)

Adaptations

  • Appearance in the documentary 'Poetry of Witness' (2014)

Translations by Author

  • Poems from Captured Documents (co-translated with Thanh T. Nguyen, 1994)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Narrative-driven voiceDirect, candid imageryIntersection of personal experience and history
Recurring Motifs
Vietnam WarMemory and traumaIndustrial Midwest

Legacy

Bruce Weigl is recognized for poetry grounded in his Vietnam War experiences, regarded as an important voice in contemporary American poetry for depicting memory and personal trauma. His depictions of the Midwestern landscape are also highly regarded.

Academic Societies

  • Association of Writers & Writing Programs

Archives

  • Lorain Public Library System (holds related materials)

In Popular Culture

  • Appearance in the documentary 'Poetry of Witness'

Quotes

  • The war took away my life and gave me poetry in return... the fate the world has given me is to struggle to write powerfully enough to draw others into the horror.
    Source: The Circle of Hanh: A Memoir (2000)

Trivia

  • Adopted a Vietnamese daughter, Hạnh Nguyễn Weigl, from an orphanage in 1996.
  • Enlisted in the U.S. Army shortly after his 18th birthday and served in Vietnam from December 1967 to December 1968.
  • Awarded the Bronze Star for his military service.