National Poetry Series
1 appearances
Reginald Gibbons
レジナルド・ギボンズ
Reginald Gibbons
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1947-01-01 （Houston, Texas, U.S.）
- Nationality
- American
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Houston (birthplace) → Princeton (study/teaching) → Stanford (study) → New York (teaching/activities) → Chicago (primary career, Northwestern University)
Career
- Occupations
- Poet, Fiction writer, Translator, Literary critic, Professor, Editor
- Active Years
- 1975-
- Affiliations
- Northwestern University, TriQuarterly (editor), Guild Literary Complex (co-founder, board), American Writers Museum (advisory board)
- Memberships
- Guild Literary Complex (emeritus board member), American Writers Museum (national advisory board)
- Influenced By
- William Goyen, Ancient Greek tragedy (e.g., Sophocles)
- Influenced
- Chicago poetry and literary community
- Nominations
- Creatures of a Day — National Book Award (Poetry) Finalist (2008)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Princeton University | — | Department of Spanish and Portuguese | AB | 1965–1969 | United States |
| Stanford University | — | English (creative writing) and Comparative Literature | MA / PhD | 1970–1975 | United States |
Princeton University
Department of Spanish and Portuguese
Degree:
AB
Period:
1965–1969
Year of Graduation:
1969
Country:
United States
AB in Spanish and Portuguese
Stanford University
English (creative writing) and Comparative Literature
Degree:
MA / PhD
Period:
1970–1975
Year of Graduation:
1975
Country:
United States
MA in English and creative writing; PhD in Comparative Literature
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Anisfield-Wolf Book Award | Sweetbitter | — | Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards | Winner |
| — | Carl Sandburg Prize | Maybe It Was So | — | Carl Sandburg Prize | Winner |
| — | O. B. Hardison, Jr. Poetry Prize | — | — | Folger Shakespeare Library | Winner |
| — | Guggenheim Fellowship | — | — | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation | Fellowship |
| — | NEA Fellowship | — | — | National Endowment for the Arts | Fellowship |
| 2008 | National Book Award (Finalist) | Creatures of a Day | Poetry | National Book Foundation | Finalist |
Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
1995
Work:
Sweetbitter
Organization:
Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards
Result:
Winner
Carl Sandburg Prize
Work:
Maybe It Was So
Organization:
Carl Sandburg Prize
Result:
Winner
O. B. Hardison, Jr. Poetry Prize
Organization:
Folger Shakespeare Library
Result:
Winner
Guggenheim Fellowship
Organization:
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result:
Fellowship
NEA Fellowship
Organization:
National Endowment for the Arts
Result:
Fellowship
National Book Award (Finalist)
2008
Work:
Creatures of a Day
Category:
Poetry
Organization:
National Book Foundation
Result:
Finalist
Awards & Nominations
Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 60 (1995) Winner
Works
Major Works
Creatures of a Day
2008 Poetry 80 pagesA collection that intertwines personal memory and universal themes; attentive to form and sound while addressing life, loss, and historical reference.
MemoryLossTimeClassical references
Sparrow: New and Selected Poems
1997 Poetry (Selected Poems) 120 pagesA selected volume combining earlier work with new poems, showing range and continuity in his poetry.
CityPersonal historyExploration of language
Sweetbitter
1995 Fiction (Novel) 240 pagesA novel that depicts complex and sensuous human relationships, weaving desire with cultural contexts.
DesireMemoryInterpersonal relationships
The Ruined Motel
1981 Poetry 64 pagesAn early poetry collection notable for strong sense of place and vivid imagery.
PlaceLandscapeEveryday life
Last Lake
2016 Poetry 96 pagesPoetic meditations on nature and memory, combining quiet observation with historical resonance.
NatureMemoryTime
Bibliography
- Roofs Voices Roads (1979)
- The Ruined Motel (1981)
- Saints (1986)
- Maybe It Was So (1991)
- Sparrow: New and Selected Poems (1997)
- Homage to Longshot O'Leary (1999)
- It's Time: Poems (2002)
- Creatures of a Day (2008)
- Slow Trains Overhead: Chicago Poems and Stories (2010)
- Last Lake (2016)
- Renditions (2021)
- Sweetbitter (novel)
- Five Pears or Peaches (short fiction)
- An Orchard in the Street (short fiction)
- Sophocles, Selected Poems: Odes and Fragments (2008) (translator & introduction)
- Antigone (Sophocles translation, 2007)
- The Complete Sophocles, Volume I: The Theban Plays (co-translation, 2011)
Translations by Author
- Works of Sophocles (translations, co-translations)
Translations of Works
- Desde una barca de papel (Poemas 1981-2008) - bilingual Spanish/English edition (2009)
- L'abitino blue - bilingual Italian/English edition (2012)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Lyrical and narrative voiceFusion of classical reference and contemporary sensibilityAttention to form (sound, rhythm, lineation)
- Recurring Motifs
- Memory and traces of the pastPlace (especially Chicago)Classical themes and references
Legacy
As a scholar, poet, and translator, he has had a broad impact on contemporary American poetry, translation, and regional literary life in Chicago. His editorship of TriQuarterly expanded venues for emerging writers.
Academic Societies
- Various societies related to comparative literature and English studies
Trivia
- Editor of TriQuarterly magazine from 1981 to 1997.
- Executor of William Goyen's literary estate; edited and restored several of Goyen's works.
- Co-founder of the Guild Literary Complex and actively involved in Chicago literary life.
- Creatures of a Day was a 2008 National Book Award finalist in Poetry.