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John B. Balaban

ジョン・B・バラバン

John B. Balaban

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1943-12-02 （Philadelphia, Pennsylvania）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English

Career

Occupations
poet, translator, writer, university professor
Active Years
1966-
Affiliations
North Carolina State University (Professor Emeritus), Vietnamese Nôm Preservation Foundation (co-founder)
Influenced By
Hồ Xuân Hương, Vietnamese folk poetry (ca dao)

Education

Pennsylvania State University
College of Arts and Humanities / English
Degree: B.A.
Period: 1962–1966
Year of Graduation: 1966
Country: United States
Graduated with highest honors
Harvard University
Graduate School / English literature
Degree: A.M.
Period: 1966–1968
Year of Graduation: 1968
Country: United States
Studied English literature; engaged in volunteer work during studies

Awards

William Carlos Williams Award
1998
Work: Locusts at the Edge of Summer: New and Selected Poems
Organization: Academy of American Poets
Result: 受賞
Medal for the Cause of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of Viet Nam
2008
Organization: Vietnam Ministry of Culture
Result: 受賞
George Garrett Prize for Service to Literature
2017
Organization: Associated Writing Programs
Result: 受賞
John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship
2003
Organization: Guggenheim Foundation
Result: 受賞
National Poetry Series
1990
Work: Words for My Daughter
Organization: National Poetry Series
Result: 選出
National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship (translation)
1985
Organization: National Endowment for the Arts
Result: 受賞
National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship (poetry)
1978
Organization: National Endowment for the Arts
Result: 受賞
The Steaua Prize
1978
Organization: Romanian Writers Union
Result: 受賞
Fulbright Distinguished Visiting Lectureship
1979
Organization: Fulbright Program
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

After Our War

1974 Poetry

An early collection dealing with the Vietnam War and its aftermath, containing poems grounded in personal experience and testimony.

warmemorypersonal testimony

Blue Mountain

1982 Poetry

A collection of poems interweaving nature and personal recollection.

naturerecollection

Words for My Daughter

1991 Poetry

A poetry collection reflecting family and paternal perspectives; selected by the National Poetry Series.

familyparenthood

Locusts at the Edge of Summer: New and Selected Poems

1997 Poetry (new and selected)

A new and selected poems volume that won the 1998 William Carlos Williams Award.

warnaturememory

Path, Crooked Path

2006 Poetry

A collection featuring poetic exploration and formal experimentation, praised by publications such as Library Journal.

poetic inquiryform

Ca Dao Viet Nam: Vietnamese Folk Poetry

1980 Translation / Folklore poetry

An important collection and English translation of Vietnamese sung oral poetry (ca dao); later issued in a revised edition.

folkloretranslationcultural preservation

Spring Essence: The Poetry of Ho Xuan Huong

2000 Translation

English translations of 18th-century woman poet Hồ Xuân Hương, presented with both the modern Vietnamese script and historical Chữ Nôm.

woman poettranslationcultural preservation

Bibliography

  • After Our War (1974)
  • Blue Mountain (1982)
  • Words for My Daughter (1991)
  • Locusts at the Edge of Summer (1997, 2003)
  • Path, Crooked Path (2006)
  • Like Family (2009)
  • Empires (forthcoming October 2019)
  • Ca Dao Viet Nam: Vietnamese Folk Poetry (1980; revised 2003)
  • Spring Essence: The Poetry of Ho Xuan Huong (2000)
  • Vietnam: The Land We Never Knew (1989, with Geoffrey Clifford)
  • Remembering Heaven's Face (1991; revised 2002)
  • The Hawk's Tale (1988)
  • Coming Down Again (1989)

Translations by Author

  • Ca Dao Viet Nam (collection and English translations of Vietnamese folk poetry)
  • Spring Essence (English translations of Hồ Xuân Hương)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyrical yet testimonial toneconcise, observant dictionrespectful approach to source cultures in translation
Recurring Motifs
war and memoryVietnamese landscape and folklorefamily and personal recollection

Legacy

John B. Balaban has played a key role in translating and preserving Vietnamese literature. Through founding preservation initiatives, producing major translations and poetry, he has earned international recognition and influenced scholarship and teaching as a professor at North Carolina State University.

Academic Societies

  • Phi Kappa Phi (honor society)

Archives

  • Materials related to the Vietnamese Nôm Preservation Foundation

Trivia

  • Born in Philadelphia to Romanian immigrant parents.
  • Served in Vietnam as a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War and was wounded there.
  • Co-founded the Vietnamese Nôm Preservation Foundation in 1999 and contributed to digital preservation of classical texts.