James Laughlin Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 42 (1995) Winner
Ralph Angel
ラルフ・エンジェル
Ralph Angel
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1951-05-02 （Seattle, Washington, United States）
- Died
- 2020-03-06 age 68
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English, Ladino (family language), Hebrew (partial)
- Religion
- Judaism (Sephardic)
- Residence History
- Seattle (childhood) → Los Angeles area (adult life) → Redlands, California (later, faculty)
Career
- Occupations
- poet, translator, professor, MFA faculty
- Active Years
- 1980-2020
- Affiliations
- University of Redlands (Edith R. White Distinguished Professor), Vermont College of Fine Arts (MFA faculty)
- Influenced By
- Federico García Lorca (subject of translations), Sephardic musical tradition (family cultural influence)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Washington | — | — | BA | — | United States |
| University of California, Irvine | — | — | MFA | — | United States |
University of Washington
Degree:
BA
Country:
United States
Earned degree while working on freight trains
University of California, Irvine
Degree:
MFA
Country:
United States
MFA in Writing (Poetry)
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Green Rose Poetry Prize | Your Moon | — | New Issues Poetry & Prose | 受賞 |
| 2007 | PEN USA Literary Award in Poetry | Exceptions and Melancholies: Poems 1986-2006 | — | PEN Center USA | 受賞 |
| 2003 | Willis Barnstone Poetry Translation Prize | Poem of the Deep Song (translation of Federico García Lorca) | — | Willis Barnstone Prize | 受賞 |
| 1995 | James Laughlin Award | Neither World | — | Academy of American Poets | 受賞 |
| 1995 | Pushcart Prize | — | — | Pushcart Press | 受賞 |
| 2006 | Gertrude Stein Award | — | — | Sun & Moon Press | 受賞 |
| 1988 | Bess Hokin Award | — | — | Modern Poetry Association / Poetry Foundation | 受賞 |
Green Rose Poetry Prize
2013
Work:
Your Moon
Organization:
New Issues Poetry & Prose
Result:
受賞
PEN USA Literary Award in Poetry
2007
Work:
Exceptions and Melancholies: Poems 1986-2006
Organization:
PEN Center USA
Result:
受賞
Willis Barnstone Poetry Translation Prize
2003
Work:
Poem of the Deep Song (translation of Federico García Lorca)
Organization:
Willis Barnstone Prize
Result:
受賞
James Laughlin Award
1995
Work:
Neither World
Organization:
Academy of American Poets
Result:
受賞
Pushcart Prize
1995
Organization:
Pushcart Press
Result:
受賞
Gertrude Stein Award
2006
Organization:
Sun & Moon Press
Result:
受賞
Bess Hokin Award
1988
Organization:
Modern Poetry Association / Poetry Foundation
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Willis Barnstone Translation Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 1 (2002) Winner
Works
Major Works
Your Moon
2013 Poetry collectionA later collection exploring solitude, memory, urban landscapes, and personal loss in quiet, reflective poems.
memorylossthe city
Exceptions and Melancholies: Poems 1986-2006
2006 Poetry collection (selected)A selected collection of poems from 1986 to 2006, noted for its melancholy tone and formal accomplishment.
nostalgiaidentitylanguage
Poem of the Deep Song (translation of Poema del cante jondo)
2006 Poetry translationA translation of Federico García Lorca's work; Angel noted the connection between the poems' musicality and his Sephardic background in the afterword.
musicalitytraditiontranslated poetry
Twice Removed
2001 Poetry collectionPublished 2001; poems focus on Los Angeles landscapes and personal memory. Nominated for Los Angeles Times Book Award.
the citymemorypersonal landscapes
Neither World
1995 Poetry collection 94 pagesPublished 1995; depicts American psychological and urban landscapes and won the James Laughlin Award.
urbanitypsychologyAmerican-ness
Anxious Latitudes
1986 Poetry collectionFirst major collection, widely praised by critics.
travelanxietygeography
History (limited-edition chapbook)
1982 Chapbook (poetry)A limited-edition short chapbook, one of his early publications.
early workpersonal memory
Bibliography
- Your Moon
- Exceptions and Melancholies: Poems 1986-2006
- Poem of the Deep Song (translation of Poema del cante jondo)
- Twice Removed
- Neither World
- Anxious Latitudes
- History (limited-edition chapbook)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- restrained diction utilizing silence and negative spacerhythmic, music-conscious use of repetition
- Recurring Motifs
- urban landscapesmemory and lossmusic (influence of Sephardic tradition)
Health
-
brief unspecified illness2020年3月（数日）Hospitalized and died after a brief illness, leading to end of career.
Legacy
Ralph Angel was an important voice in contemporary American poetry, known for work on urban psychological landscapes and memory. He was also a translator and educator who mentored many poets and received several major poetry awards.
Quotes
-
“I come from a household of three languages—Ladino, Hebrew, and English—one that I could understand but not speak, one that I could sing but not understand, and one that is the language of my country, at some distance, always, from my home.”
Source: Afterword to Poem of the Deep Song (translation) (2006)
Trivia
- Attended inner-city public schools in Seattle.
- While at the University of Washington he worked on freight trains for the Union Pacific Railroad while earning his degree.
- Official website: http://ralphangel.com/ (exists; current update status unknown)