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Robert Samuel "Sam" Gwynn

ロバート・サミュエル・グウィン（サム）

Robert Samuel "Sam" Gwynn

Aliases: R. S. Gwynn / Sam Gwynn

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1948-05-13 （Eden, North Carolina, United States）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Eden, North Carolina, United States (birthplace) → Beaumont, Texas, United States (residence)

Career

Occupations
Poet, Editor, Professor
Active Years
1970-
Affiliations
Lamar University (Professor, University Professor), West Chester University Poetry Conference (original faculty; later Program Director)
Memberships
Phi Kappa Phi (member)

Education

Davidson College
Degree: B.A.
Year of Graduation: 1969
Country: United States
Won the Vereen Bell Award twice while at Davidson; member of the college's GE College Bowl championship team; played varsity football.
Bread Loaf School of English (Middlebury College)
Country: United States
Completed graduate-level work
University of Arkansas
Degree: M.A., M.F.A.
Country: United States
Earned an M.A. and an M.F.A.

Awards

Breakthrough Award (University of Missouri Press)
1986
Work: The Drive-in
Organization: University of Missouri Press
Result: 受賞
Michael Braude Award for Light Verse
Organization: American Academy of Arts and Letters
Result: 受賞
Vereen Bell Award (Davidson College)
Organization: Davidson College
Result: 受賞（2回）
Honored by Phi Kappa Phi
Organization: Phi Kappa Phi
Result: 栄誉

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Bearing & Distance

1977 Poetry collection

Early collection of poems exploring formal verse and poetic techniques.

formal versepersonal reflection

The Narcissiad

1981 Poetry collection

A satirical and formally attentive long poem.

satireself-referentiality

The Drive-in

1986 Poetry collection

A prize-winning collection noted for blending everyday imagery with formal poetic technique.

the everydayformalism

No Word of Farewell: Poems 1970-2000

2001 Poetry collection (selected)

A selected volume of poems from 1970 to 2000, praised in an introduction by Dana Gioia.

formal techniquejuxtaposition of images

Dogwatch

2014 Poetry collection

A recent collection demonstrating wit and continued interest in formal structures.

witformal poetry

Bibliography

  • Bearing & Distance (1977)
  • The Narcissiad (1981)
  • The Drive-in (1986)
  • No Word of Farewell: Poems 1970-2000 (2001)
  • Dogwatch (2014)
  • Editor: The Advocates of Poetry (1996)
  • Editor: Contemporary American Poetry: A Pocket Anthology (2005)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Associated with New Formalism; emphasis on formal verseWitty, light-toned diction
Recurring Motifs
Juxtaposition of mythic and modern imagesDetails of everyday lifeSatire and self-awareness

Legacy

R. S. Gwynn is regarded as a leading poet associated with New Formalism, admired for his mastery of formal techniques and wit. He has influenced later poets through both his teaching and participation in poetry conferences. His papers are archived at university collections for research.

Academic Societies

  • Phi Kappa Phi

Archives

  • Texas State University at San Marcos, Southwestern Writers Collection (R. S. Gwynn Papers)
  • Guide available on Texas Archival Resources Online (T.A.R.O.)

Quotes

  • [Gwynn] is ingeniously funny...[and] an effortless master of verse forms. No American poet of his generation has written better sonnets...
    Source: Dana Gioia, introduction to No Word of Farewell: Poems 1970-2000 (2001)

Trivia

  • Won the Vereen Bell Award twice while at Davidson College.
  • Played varsity football in college.
  • The Drive-in won the University of Missouri Press Breakthrough Award (1986).
  • Appointed Program Director of the West Chester University Poetry Conference in 2015.
  • Papers and correspondence are housed at Texas State University at San Marcos.