PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 17 (2007) Winner
Will Alexander
ウィル・アレキサンダー
Will Alexander
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Nationality
- American
- Languages
- English
Career
- Occupations
- poet, novelist, essayist, playwright, visual artist
- Active Years
- 1972-
- Influenced By
- Bob Kaufman, Octavio Paz, Aimé Césaire (Negritude), Jean-Joseph Rabéarivelo, Negritude movement
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of California, Los Angeles | BA (English & Creative Writing) | English and Creative Writing | BA | 1968–1972 | United States |
University of California, Los Angeles
BA (English & Creative Writing)
/ English and Creative Writing
Degree:
BA
Period:
1968–1972
Year of Graduation:
1972
Country:
United States
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Jackson Poetry Prize | — | — | Poets & Writers | winner |
| 2014 | American Book Award | Singing in Magnetic Hoofbeat: Essays, Prose Texts, Interviews and a Lecture 1991–2007 | — | Before Columbus Foundation | winner |
| 2002 | California Arts Council Fellowship | — | — | California Arts Council | recipient |
| 2001 | Whiting Fellowship for Poetry | — | — | Whiting Foundation | recipient |
Jackson Poetry Prize
2016
Organization:
Poets & Writers
Result:
winner
American Book Award
2014
Work:
Singing in Magnetic Hoofbeat: Essays, Prose Texts, Interviews and a Lecture 1991–2007
Organization:
Before Columbus Foundation
Result:
winner
California Arts Council Fellowship
2002
Organization:
California Arts Council
Result:
recipient
Whiting Fellowship for Poetry
2001
Organization:
Whiting Foundation
Result:
recipient
Awards & Nominations
American Book Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 34 (2013) Winner
Jackson Poetry Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 10 (2016) Winner
Works
Major Works
Singing in Magnetic Hoofbeat: Essays, Prose Texts, Interviews and a Lecture 1991–2007
2012 essays / proseA prose anthology of essays, texts, interviews and a lecture that gathers Alexander's poetic and philosophical reflections.
surrealisminterior discoverylanguage and metaphysics
The Sri Lankan Loxodrome
2009 long poems / poetryA collection featuring a long poem and several short poems characterized by vivid imagery and a sense of cosmic isolation.
dense imagerycosmic isolation
Compression & Purity
2011 poetryA collection of poems employing symbolic and dense imagery, exploring layers of sound and meaning in language.
sonority of languagealchemical metamorphosis
Divine Blue Light (for John Coltrane)
2022 poetryA poetic homage to John Coltrane that attempts to intertwine music and poetic expression.
music-poetry fusiontribute and hymn
Bibliography
- Vertical Rainbow Climber (1987)
- Arcane Lavender Morals (1994)
- The Stratospheric Canticles (1995)
- Asia & Haiti (1995)
- Above the Human Nerve Domain (1998)
- Towards the Primeval Lightning Field (1998; revised ed. 2014)
- Exobiology as Goddess (2004)
- Sunrise In Armageddon (2006)
- The Sri Lankan Loxodrome (2009)
- Compression & Purity (2011)
- Diary As Sin (2011)
- Singing in Magnetic Hoofbeat (2012)
- Across the Vapour Gulf (2017)
- The Combustion Cycle (2021)
- Refractive Africa (2021)
- Divine Blue Light (for John Coltrane) (2022)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- surreal and experimental styledense, metaphor-rich language and wordplayphilosophical and metaphysical reflection
- Recurring Motifs
- cosmic isolationalchemical metamorphosismateriality of languagereferences to music (notably jazz)
Legacy
Will Alexander has made a significant mark on contemporary American poetry through his symbolic and experimental writing. Frequently described as surreal, his work explores poetic language, intersects with music, and reflects pan-cultural influences. He has received multiple awards and is highly regarded in the poetry community.
Archives
- PennSound (sound recordings of Will Alexander's verse)
In Popular Culture
- Poetic homage to John Coltrane (intersection with music)
Quotes
-
His work is frequently described as surreal, characterized by a powerful mix of metaphor and sophisticated language.
Source: Poetry Foundation (2017) (2017)
Trivia
- Won the Jackson Poetry Prize in 2016.
- Received the American Book Award in 2014 for Singing in Magnetic Hoofbeat.
- Earned a BA in English and creative writing from UCLA in 1972.
- Sound recordings of his poetry are archived at PennSound.