Sir Roger Newdigate's Prize (Newdigate Prize)
1 appearances
-
Edition 0 (1952) Winner
Donald Hall
ドナルド・ホール
Donald Hall
Aliases:
Donald Andrew Hall Jr.
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1928-09-20 （Hamden, Connecticut, U.S.）
- Died
- 2018-06-23 （Wilmot, New Hampshire, U.S.） age 89
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Hamden, Connecticut (birth) → Oxford, England (study) → Ann Arbor, Michigan (University of Michigan) → Wilmot, New Hampshire (Eagle Pond Farm, longtime residence)
Career
- Occupations
- poet, writer, editor, literary critic, academic
- Active Years
- 1950-2018
- Affiliations
- Stanford University (creative writing fellow), Bennington College (longtime affiliation with graduate writing program), University of Michigan (faculty), Wesleyan University Press (poetry editorial board member)
- Influenced By
- Robert Frost, Yvor Winters
- Influenced
- Jane Kenyon, later New England poets
- Nominations
- National Book Award nomination (1956), National Book Award nomination (1979), National Book Award nomination (1993)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phillips Exeter Academy | — | — | — | — | United States |
| Harvard University | — | — | A.B. (magna cum laude) | 1947–1951 | United States |
| Christ Church, Oxford | — | — | B.Litt. | 1951–1953 | United Kingdom |
Phillips Exeter Academy
Country:
United States
Prep school; began literary activity
Harvard University
Degree:
A.B. (magna cum laude)
Period:
1947–1951
Year of Graduation:
1951
Country:
United States
Elected to Phi Beta Kappa; served on editorial board of The Harvard Advocate
Christ Church, Oxford
Degree:
B.Litt.
Period:
1951–1953
Year of Graduation:
1953
Country:
United Kingdom
Edited Oxford Poetry; won the Newdigate Prize for the poem 'Exile'
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Lamont Poetry Prize | Exiles and Marriages | — | Associated award organization | winner |
| 1952 | Newdigate Prize | poem 'Exile' | — | University of Oxford | winner |
| 1956 | Edna St. Vincent Millay Award | — | — | Awarding organization (unspecified) | winner |
| 1980 | Caldecott Medal | Ox-Cart Man | 児童文学（絵本） | American Library Association | winner |
| 1987 | Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize | — | — | Awarding organization | winner |
| 1988 | National Book Critics Circle Award (Poetry) | — | 詩 | National Book Critics Circle | winner |
| 1989 | Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Poetry) | — | 詩 | Los Angeles Times | winner |
| 1990 | Robert Frost Medal | — | — | Poetry Society of America | winner |
| 1994 | Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize | — | 生涯業績 | Ruth Lilly Foundation | winner |
| 2006 | 14th U.S. Poet Laureate | — | ポエット・ローレート任命 | Library of Congress | appointed |
| 2010 | National Medal of Arts | — | — | National Endowment for the Arts / White House | winner |
| 1963 | Guggenheim Fellowship | — | フェローシップ（1963–64、1972–73） | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation | recipient |
Lamont Poetry Prize
1955
Work:
Exiles and Marriages
Organization:
Associated award organization
Result:
winner
Newdigate Prize
1952
Work:
poem 'Exile'
Organization:
University of Oxford
Result:
winner
Edna St. Vincent Millay Award
1956
Organization:
Awarding organization (unspecified)
Result:
winner
Caldecott Medal
1980
Work:
Ox-Cart Man
Category:
児童文学（絵本）
Organization:
American Library Association
Result:
winner
Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize
1987
Organization:
Awarding organization
Result:
winner
National Book Critics Circle Award (Poetry)
1988
Category:
詩
Organization:
National Book Critics Circle
Result:
winner
Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Poetry)
1989
Category:
詩
Organization:
Los Angeles Times
Result:
winner
Robert Frost Medal
1990
Organization:
Poetry Society of America
Result:
winner
Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize
1994
Category:
生涯業績
Organization:
Ruth Lilly Foundation
Result:
winner
14th U.S. Poet Laureate
2006
Category:
ポエット・ローレート任命
Organization:
Library of Congress
Result:
appointed
National Medal of Arts
2010
Organization:
National Endowment for the Arts / White House
Result:
winner
Guggenheim Fellowship
1963
Category:
フェローシップ（1963–64、1972–73）
Organization:
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result:
recipient
Awards & Nominations
James Laughlin Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 2 (1955) Winner
Los Angeles Times Book Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 10 (1989) Winner
Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 9 (1994) Winner
Aiken Taylor Award for Modern American Poetry
1 appearances
-
Edition 22 (2009) Winner
Works
Major Works
The One Day
1988 poetryOne of his critically acclaimed later collections, exploring time and loss through everyday moments.
timelosseveryday life
Old and New Poems
1990 poetryA collection mixing older and newer poems, showcasing his command of both formal and free verse.
retrospectionform and free verse
Without
1998 poetryA collection responding to the illness and death of his wife Jane Kenyon; contains epistolary poems.
lossgriefrecovery
Ox-Cart Man
1979 children's picture bookA children's picture book depicting traditional New England life, illustrated by Barbara Cooney.
rural lifeseasonstradition
The Painted Bed
2002 poetryA collection dealing with life after his wife's death and the poet's mourning; includes critically praised poems.
mourningeveryday lifememory
Bibliography
- Exiles and Marriages (1955)
- The One Day (1988)
- Without: Poems (1998)
- The Painted Bed (2002)
- A Carnival of Losses: Essays Nearing Ninety (2018)
Adaptations
- Short documentary 'Quiet Hours' (dir. Paul Szynol)
- PBS 'A Life Together' (profile of Hall and Jane Kenyon)
- Recorded cycle 'Mortality Mansions: Songs of Love and Loss after 60' (2018, music by Herschel Garfein)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- plainspoken, rural voicemastery of both formal and free versecraft-focused approach emphasizing revision
- Recurring Motifs
- New Englandrural lifebaseballlabor and the meaning of workloss and memory
Health
-
colon (colorectal) cancer1989–1992（手術と化学療法、肝転移を経て寛解）Diagnosed in 1989; cancer metastasized to the liver by 1992, underwent further surgery and chemotherapy and went into remission. Affected later work and outlook on mortality.
Legacy
Donald Hall became a leading figure of New England poetry known for his plainspoken rural voice and commitment to revision as craft. He left a wide-ranging body of work—poetry, essays, children's books—and held national honors including U.S. Poet Laureate.
Archives
- Library of Congress: Donald Hall resources
- Bennington College resources (lectures and readings)
In Popular Culture
- Appearance in Ken Burns's documentary on baseball
- Mentioned in a Roger Waters song (2023), showing references in popular culture
Quotes
-
How many times will he die in his own lifetime?
Source: Quoted in Publishers Weekly review of 'The Painted Bed' (2002) -
Regarded as a plainspoken, rural poet.
Source: Summary in Poetry Foundation biography
Trivia
- First poetry editor of The Paris Review (1953–1961).
- Won the Caldecott Medal for 'Ox-Cart Man'.
- Served as the 14th U.S. Poet Laureate (2006–2007).
- Authored more than 50 books across multiple genres.
- Eagle Pond Farm was his longtime home and an important setting for his work.