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John Ashbery

ジョン・アシュベリー

John Ashbery

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1927-07-28 （Rochester, New York, U.S.）
Died
2017-09-03 （Hudson, New York, U.S.） age 90
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
New York City → Hudson, New York → France (lived in Paris)

Career

Occupations
poet, professor, art critic, translator, editor
Active Years
1949-2017
Affiliations
Brooklyn College (faculty), Bard College (faculty), Academy of American Poets (chancellor), Contributor/editor at New York magazine and ARTnews
Memberships
Academy of American Poets (chancellor), New York Writers Hall of Fame
Influenced By
W. H. Auden, Wallace Stevens, French Surrealists and Raymond Roussel
Influenced
Poets of the New York School and subsequent American poets, Many younger English-language poets

Education

Harvard University
Harvard College (Undergraduate)
Degree: A.B. (cum laude)
Period: 1945–1949
Year of Graduation: 1949
Country: United States
Senior thesis on the poetry of W. H. Auden
Columbia University
Graduate school
Degree: M.A.
Period: 1949–1951
Year of Graduation: 1951
Country: United States
New York University (attended)
Period: 1950s（短期間）
Country: United States
Brief period of study

Awards

Yale Younger Poets Prize
1956
Work: Some Trees
Organization: Yale University
Result: winner
National Book Award (Poetry)
1976
Work: Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: winner
National Book Critics Circle Award
1976
Work: Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror
Organization: National Book Critics Circle
Result: winner
Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
1976
Work: Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror
Organization: Pulitzer Prize Board
Result: winner
Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize
1984
Work: A Wave
Organization: Academy of American Poets (and others)
Result: winner
Bollingen Prize in Poetry
1984
Work: A Wave
Organization: Bollingen Prize committee
Result: winner
MacArthur Fellowship
1985
Organization: MacArthur Foundation
Result: fellowship
Robert Frost Medal
1995
Organization: Poetry organizations
Result: recipient
Officier de la Légion d'honneur
2002
Organization: Government of France
Result: decorated
Griffin Poetry Prize (International)
2008
Work: Notes from the Air: Selected Later Poems
Organization: Griffin Poetry Prize Foundation
Result: winner
America Award (for lifetime contribution)
2008
Organization: America Award
Result: recipient
National Humanities Medal
2011
Organization: U.S. Government
Result: recipient
National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters
2011
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: recipient
The Raymond Roussel Society Medal
2017
Organization: The Raymond Roussel Society
Result: recipient

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Some Trees

1956 Poetry collection 40 pages

Early collection showing influences of traditional poetic practice while introducing Ashbery's emerging voice.

linguistic playmemoryobservation

Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror

1975 Poetry collection (including long poem) 80 pages

One of his masterpieces; the title poem is regarded as a major late-20th-century work and won multiple major poetry awards in 1976.

self and representationart and perceptionmemory and time
Translations
  • Translated into Japanese and other languages

A Wave

1984 Poetry collection 96 pages

An important 1980s collection noted for its experimental range; it won several prizes.

fluxassociative thoughtlinguistic rhythm

Flow Chart

1991 Book-length poem 120 pages

A long, book-length poem blending prose and poetic fragments in a flowing structure.

associationstream of consciousness

Bibliography

  • Turandot and other poems (1953)
  • Some Trees (1956)
  • The Tennis Court Oath (1962)
  • Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror (1975)
  • A Wave (1984)
  • Flow Chart (1991)

Adaptations

  • Installation of the 'Bridge Poem' on the Irene Hixon Whitney Bridge (Minneapolis, 1988)

Translations by Author

  • Arthur Rimbaud 'Illuminations' (translation)
  • Translations of Pierre Martory's works (e.g., The Landscapist)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
experimental, prose-poem techniquesdisjunctive and fragmentary syntaxlinguistic play often infused with humor
Recurring Motifs
stream of consciousnessmemory and the pastart and visual imagerythe strangeness within everyday life

Legacy

Ashbery is regarded as one of the leading American poets of the late 20th century, acclaimed and influential for opening new possibilities in poetic language and expression.

Academic Societies

  • Academy of American Poets

Archives

  • Woodberry Poetry Room (Harvard) and other audio/material archives
  • Ashbery Research Center (related archives)

In Popular Culture

  • Named the first poet laureate of mtvU (2008)
  • Known for friendships with Andy Warhol and figures associated with The Factory

Quotes

  • I’m not very good at explaining my work... I'm unable to do so because I feel that my poetry is the explanation. The explanation of what? Of my thought, whatever that is. As I see it, my thought is both poetry and the attempt to explain that poetry; the two cannot be disentangled.
    Source: Selected Prose / interviews (2005)

Trivia

  • In 2007 he became one of the first living poets to be included in the Library of America.
  • His husband/partner was David Kermani.