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Julie Kane

ジュリー・ケイン

Julie Kane

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1952-07-20 （Boston, Massachusetts, United States）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Massachusetts (raised) → Upstate New York → Montclair, New Jersey (school years) → Baton Rouge, Louisiana (long-term residence)

Career

Occupations
poet, scholar, editor, professor
Active Years
1974-
Affiliations
Northwestern State University (faculty), Tulane University (Writer-in-Residence)
Influenced By
Anne Sexton, A. R. Ammons, William Matthews, Robert Morgan, Dave Smith

Education

Cornell University
College of Arts and Sciences / English
Degree: B.A.
Period: 1970–1974
Year of Graduation: 1974
Country: United States
Studied with A. R. Ammons, William Matthews, and Robert Morgan
Boston University
Graduate school (Creative Writing) / Creative Writing (Poetry)
Degree: M.A.
Country: United States
Was a student in Anne Sexton's graduate poetry seminar
Louisiana State University
Graduate school / English / Creative Writing
Degree: Ph.D.
Period: 1991–
Country: United States
Wrote a dissertation on the villanelle under Dave Smith

Awards

Academy of American Poets Prize
Organization: Academy of American Poets
Result: winner
Lewis P. Simpson Award
Work: Dissertation on the villanelle
Category: Dissertation
Organization: (unknown)
Result: winner
National Poetry Series
2002
Work: Rhythm & Booze
Organization: National Poetry Series
Result: selected/winner
Fulbright Scholar
2002
Work: Research/residency at Vilnius Pedagogical University
Organization: Fulbright Program
Result: award/grant
Donald Justice Poetry Prize
2009
Organization: Sponsored by the Iris N. Spencer Poetry Awards
Result: winner
Louisiana Poet Laureate
2011
Organization: State of Louisiana (Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, etc.)
Result: appointed (2011–2013)

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Rosetta

1975 Poetry

An early collection containing foundational experiments in poetry and personal themes.

selfform and experimentation

Two Into One (with Ruth Adatia)

1982 Poetry (chapbook)

A collaborative chapbook by two poets.

collaborationearly experiments

The Bartender Poems

1991 Poetry (chapbook)

A series of poems themed around bartenders, dealing with alcohol and nocturnal scenes.

alcoholoccupationurban night

Body and Soul

1987 Poetry

Her first full-length poetry collection from the 1980s exploring personal and bodily themes.

bodyselfemotion

Rhythm & Booze

2003 Poetry

A collection themed on New Orleans/Louisiana music culture and alcohol; selected in the 2002 National Poetry Series.

jazzalcoholLouisiana landscape

Alan Doll Rap

2005 Poetry / experimental

A work containing formal experimentation.

formal experimentation

Jazz Funeral

2009 Poetry

A collection themed on New Orleans musical traditions and funeral rites.

mourningjazzregional culture

Bibliography

  • Rosetta (1975)
  • Two Into One (with Ruth Adatia, 1982)
  • Body and Soul (1987)
  • The Bartender Poems (1991)
  • Rhythm & Booze (2003)
  • Alan Doll Rap (2005)
  • Jazz Funeral (2009)
  • Counterpart: A South Vietnamese Naval Officer's War (with Kiem Do, 1998)

Adaptations

  • Two poems set to music by Libby Larsen and recorded on CDs

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Mix of New Formalism-influenced formal verse and free verseUses traditional forms like the villanelle but often bends formal rules
Recurring Motifs
Louisiana / New Orleans landscapeconfessional elementsalcohol and bar scenesmusic (especially jazz)

Legacy

A poet and educator who brought a layered, non-native consciousness to Louisiana poetry; contributed to regional expression through both writing and teaching.

Trivia

  • Was a student in Anne Sexton's graduate poetry seminar.
  • Was the first woman named to the George Bennett Fellowship in Writing at Phillips Exeter Academy.
  • Two of her poems were set to music and recorded by composer Libby Larsen.
  • Born in Massachusetts but has lived in Louisiana for over three decades and writes about the region.