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Maurice Frank Kenny

モーリス・フランク・ケニー

Maurice Frank Kenny

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1929-08-16 （Watertown, New York, U.S.）
Died
2016-04-16 （Saranac Lake, New York, U.S.） age 86
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Watertown, New York (birth and childhood) → Bayonne, New Jersey (period with his mother) → Manhattan, New York City (young adulthood and work) → Brooklyn (1967–1984) → Potsdam, New York (primary residence after 1984) → Saranac Lake, New York (final years)

Career

Occupations
poet, editor, publisher, teacher
Active Years
1956-2016
Influenced By
Louise Bogan
Influenced
Native writers and North Country poets (artists published and supported via Strawberry Press and Many Moons Press)
Nominations
1996: On Second Thought was a finalist for the Oklahoma Book Award (fiction), Twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize (Blackrobe: Isaac Jogues; Between Two Rivers)

Education

Butler University
English
Degree: BA
Period: 1952–1956
Year of Graduation: 1956
Country: United States
Studied English; studied with Werner Beyer and Roy Marz.
St. Lawrence University (coursework)
Period: 短期間（1950年代）
Country: United States
Took classes with Douglas Angus; not known to have completed a degree.
New York University (coursework)
Period: 1950年代
Country: United States
Studied with Louise Bogan, a major early influence on his poetry.

Awards

American Book Award
1984
Work: The Mama Poems
Organization: Before Columbus Foundation
Result: 受賞
New York Writers Hall of Fame (induction)
2014
Organization: Empire State Center for the Book (New York State Library)
Result: 殿堂入り
Lifetime Achievement Award
2002
Organization: Native Writers' Circle of the Americas
Result: 受賞
Elder Recognition Award
2000
Organization: Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers
Result: 受賞
Honorary Doctorate
1995
Organization: St. Lawrence University
Result: 授与
Bloomsbury Review award for best anthology
1983
Work: Wounds Beneath the Flesh
Organization: Bloomsbury Review
Result: 受賞
NPR Award for Broadcasting
Work: Radio production of the poem "Dug-Out"
Organization: National Public Radio (NPR)
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Mama Poems

1984 Poetry

A collection focused on family and motherhood, weaving personal memory with ethnic roots.

familymotherhoodethnic identity

Between Two Rivers: Selected Poems, 1956-1984

1985 Poetry (selected)

A selected poems volume covering 1956–1984, tracing the development from early to mature work.

homehistoryidentity

Blackrobe: Isaac Jogues, Poems

1982 Poetry / historical

Poems centered on the historical figure Isaac Jogues, intertwining history with Native perspectives.

historyreligioncolonial encounters

On Second Thought: A Compilation

1995 Fiction / compilation

A compilation including fiction; short stories and pieces drawing on regional material and history.

regionalismhistorymemory

Bibliography

  • The Hopeless Kill (1956)
  • Dead Letters Sent, and Other Poems (1958)
  • With Love to Lesbia (1959)
  • And Grieve, Lesbia (1960)
  • North: Poems of Home (1977)
  • Only As Far As Brooklyn (1979)
  • I Am The Sun (1979)
  • Dancing Back Strong the Nation: Poems by Maurice Kenny (1981)
  • Kneading the Blood (1981)
  • Blackrobe: Isaac Jogues (1982)
  • Boston Tea Party (1982)
  • The Smell of Slaughter (1982)
  • Wounds Beneath the Flesh (1983)
  • The Mama Poems (1984)
  • Between Two Rivers: Selected Poems, 1956-1984 (1985)
  • Greyhounding This America (1988)
  • The Short and the Long of It (1990)
  • Last Mornings in Brooklyn (1991)
  • Tekonwatonti: Molly Brant (1992)
  • On Second Thought (1995)
  • In the Time of the Present: New Poems (2000)
  • Carving Hawk: New and Selected Poems, 1956-2000 (2005)
  • Connotations (2008)
  • Feeding Bears (2010)
  • Saranac Lake Ghost Poems (2016)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
direct, colloquial poetic voicelyricism mixing ethnic roots with personal memorydescriptive elements addressing historical and political themes
Recurring Motifs
Native American identitylandscapes and towns of northern New Yorkfamily and motherhoodcolonial history and religious encounters

Legacy

Maurice Kenny left a significant mark on contemporary American poetry by exploring his Mohawk heritage in his work and supporting Native authors through publishing and editing. He served as a regional chronicler and mentor to younger Native writers.

Academic Societies

  • Native Writers' Circle of the Americas (associated)
  • New York Writers Hall of Fame (inductee)

Archives

  • St. Lawrence University archives (related materials)
  • Personal papers and manuscripts (held across regional presses and university collections)

In Popular Culture

  • Several posthumous collections and tribute volumes compiled in his honor

Quotes

  • I am the sun — adapting a traditional chant into a poem that affirms solidarity and life.
    Source: Poem "I Am The Sun" (White Pine Press, 1979) (1979)

Trivia

  • Identified as partly Mohawk on his father's side but was not enrolled in any Native nation.
  • Ran Strawberry Press in the 1970s–80s, publishing many Native authors.
  • Co-edited the literary magazine Contact/II and contributed to the poetry community.
  • At his death he was working on multiple manuscripts (autobiography and several poetry collections); some were published posthumously.