Maurice English

Maurice English (October 21, 1909 – November 18, 1983) was a poet, reporter, and author who is noted for having headed the presses of the University of Chicago, Temple University, and the University of Pennsylvania.^[1][2]

Following English's death, his family established the Maurice English Poetry Award, which honors an author in his or her sixth (fifty or beyond) decade of life for a distinguished book of poems published during the preceding calendar year. The award acknowledges that Maurice English's first volume of poetry, Midnight in the Century, was published in his 55th year. The award carries an honorarium of $3,000 and a request for a public reading in Philadelphia.^[3] The award was first given in 1985 to Jane Cooper for Scaffolding: New and Selected Poems (1985).^[4]

Selected publications

• Sullivan, Louis H.; English, Maurice (1963). The Testament of Stone: Themes of Idealism and Indignation from the Writings of Louis Sullivan. Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University Press.
• English, Maurice (1964). Midnight in the Century. Park Forest, Illinois: Prairie School Press.
• English, Maurice (1971). In Our Time. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Temple University Press.

Recipients of the Maurice English Poetry Award

The year indicated is the year in which the award was made.

• 2005: Caroline Knox, He Paves the Road with Iron Bars^[5]
• 2004: R. T. Smith, The Hollow Log Lounge^[3]
• 2003: Samuel Hazo, Just Once: New and Selected Poems^[6]
• 2002: Robert Bly, The Night Abraham Called to the Stars^[7]
• 2001: Kay Ryan, Say Uncle^[8]
• 1991: Richard Fein, Kafka's Ear^[9]
• 1990: W. S. Merwin, Selected Poems^[10]
• 1989: Jean Valentine, Home Deep Blue: New and selected poems.
• 1988: David Ray, Sam's Book.^[11]
• 1987: Philip Booth, Relations^[12]
• 1986: Linda Pastan, A Fraction of Darkness^[13]
• 1985: Jane Cooper, Scaffolding: New and Selected Poems^[4]

References

1. English's date of birth is taken from the Social Security Death Index.
2. "Maurice English Dead at 74; Headed University Presses". The New York Times. November 20, 1983. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
3. "Maurice English Poetry Award". Philadelphia Art Alliance. 2005. Archived from the original (.pdf) on 2008-07-20.
4. NY Times Staff (January 21, 1990). "Libraries Continue Season of Poetry". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
5. "Brenda Shaughnessy Receives the James Laughlin Award". Academy of American Poets. September 5, 2007. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
6. "Just Once: New and Previous Poems by Samuel Hazo". Autumn House Press. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
7. Hirsch, Edward (November 20, 2002). "Poet's Choice: Edward Hirsch on The Night Abraham Called To The Stars". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
8. Raymond, Matt; Urschel, Donna (17 July 2008). "Librarian of Congress Appoints Kay Ryan Poet Laureate". The Library of Congress. Archived from the original on 2008-07-18.
9. "Contributors to Vol. 10, No. 1". The Ashville Review. 2003. Retrieved 2008-07-21.
10. Routledge Staff (2003). International Who's Who of Authors and Writers 2004. Routledge. p. 383. ISBN 1-85743-179-0. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
11. Ray, David (2008). "Honors and Awards". davidraypoet.com. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
12. McNair, Wesley (2006). The Maine Poets: An Anthology. Down East Enterprise Inc. p. 235. ISBN 978-0-89272-708-7.
13. Cullum, Linda E. Contemporary American ethnic poets: lives, works, sources. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 231. ISBN 978-0-313-32484-0.