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Michael Van Walleghen

マイケル・ヴァン・ワレヘン

Michael Van Walleghen

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1938-01-01
Died
2022-05-20 （Champaign, Illinois, United States） age 83
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Wichita, Kansas → Champaign, Illinois

Career

Occupations
Poet, Professor of English
Active Years
1966-2003
Affiliations
Wichita State University, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign

Awards

Lamont Poetry Prize
1981
Work: More Trouble With the Obvious
Organization: Academy of American Poets
Result: winner
National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship
Organization: National Endowment for the Arts
Result: fellowship
National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship (two awards)
Organization: National Endowment for the Arts
Result: fellowship
Borestone Mountain Poetry Awards (first prize)
Organization: Borestone Mountain Poetry Awards
Result: first prize
Pushcart Prize
Organization: Pushcart Press
Result: winner
Illinois Arts Council grants
Organization: Illinois Arts Council
Result: grant

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Wichita Poems

1975 Poetry collection

A collection of poems rooted in Wichita, Kansas—exploring place and memory.

placememoryMidwest

More Trouble With the Obvious

1981 Poetry collection

Poems that reconsider the seemingly obvious aspects of daily life. Winner of the Lamont Poetry Prize.

everyday lifeobservationirony

Blue Tango: Poems

1989 Poetry collection

A collection incorporating emotion and musical rhythm.

musicemotionrecollection

Tall Birds Stalking

1994 Poetry collection

A book of poems exploring human condition through metaphoric imagery and observations of nature.

naturemetaphorexistence

The Last Neanderthal

1999 Poetry collection

Contains poems weaving historical and anthropological imagery.

historyanthropologymemory

In the Grip of Strange Thoughts (translations in anthology)

1999 Translation / Anthology

Anthology including translations of Russian poets (features Van Walleghen's translations of Dmitri Bobyshev).

translationRussian poetry

In the Black Window

2002 Poetry collection

A late collection marked by quietness and dark metaphor.

metaphorquietreflection

The Permanence of Witches

1966 Poem (anthology)

A poem published in The Best Poems of 1966 anthology.

traditionpermanence

Bibliography

  • The Wichita Poems (1975)
  • More Trouble With the Obvious (1981)
  • Blue Tango: Poems (1989)
  • Tall Birds Stalking (1994)
  • The Last Neanderthal (1999)
  • In the Grip of Strange Thoughts (translations contributed, 1999)
  • In the Black Window (2002)

Translations by Author

  • Translations of Dmitri Bobyshev's poems (included in anthology)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
plainspoken, observant dictiondepictions rooted in Midwestern realitylyrical and conversational tone
Recurring Motifs
place and memoryobjects of everyday lifenature and seasons

Legacy

Michael Van Walleghen is regarded as a poet who evoked Midwestern landscapes and the everyday. He influenced students and younger poets through his long academic career at the University of Illinois, won the Lamont Poetry Prize and NEA fellowships, and served as the first director of the university's MFA in Creative Writing program established in 2003.

Academic Societies

  • University of Illinois academic communities

Archives

  • University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign archives (likely holds related materials)

Trivia

  • Won the Lamont Poetry Prize in 1981 for 'More Trouble With the Obvious'.
  • Served as the first director of the MFA in Creative Writing program at the University of Illinois, established in 2003.
  • Died May 20, 2022 in Champaign, Illinois, at age 83.