Liam Rector
Liam Rector (November 21, 1949 – August 15, 2007) was an American poet, essayist and educator. He had administered literary programs at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP), the National Endowment for the Arts, the Academy of American Poets, and the Folger Shakespeare Library. He was also the director, most recently, of the graduate Writing Seminars at Bennington College.
Life and work
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Liam's class was one of my favorite experiences at the New School, as I'm sure it was for many others. He was a wonderful man and a terrific poet and teacher. I remember hearing him read at a PSA reading. He read last, I was bored and tired, and he blew the doors off the place. He just exuded a poetic gravitas, and I know few poets who read with such grace and class. I'll miss him. |
| Steve Roberts [1] |
Rector, born in Washington, D.C., was the author of volumes of poetry including The Executive Director of the Fallen World (University of Chicago, 2006), American Prodigal (Story Line, 1994), and The Sorrow of Architecture (Dragon Gate, 1984).
He co-edited with Tree Swenson On the Poetry of Frank Bidart: Fastening the Voice to the Page (University of Michigan, 2007), and edited The Day I Was Older: On the Poetry of Donald Hall (Story Line, 1989).
Rector founded and directed the graduate writing seminars at Bennington College in Vermont and taught at Columbia University, The New School, and Emerson College.
Rector committed suicide by gunshot[2] in his Greenwich Village apartment on August 15, 2007.[3]
Legacy
The Liam Rector First Book Prize for Poetry is awarded annually by Briery Creek Press to honor the best emerging poets with their first full-length poetry publication.
References
- Liam Rector: 1949 — 2007 A "cyber-tombeau" at Silliman's Blog by poet Ron Silliman includes comments, tributes, and links
- IMDb - Liam Rector Biography
- Rector, poet and teacher, kills self obituary from UPI on-line
External links
- Liam Rector, 57, a Poet and Educator, Dies obituary published in the New York Times
- from An interview by Sarah Kanning this link includes Rector poems "About the Money" and "In My Memory Eddie" published in the American Poetry Review (Sept/Oct 2005)
- excerpt from The Culture Wars in a Time of War published in the American Poetry Review (Jan/Feb 2000)
- Exhibit at The Academy of American Poets includes links to on-line poems and audio readings
- Rector, poet and teacher, kills self obituary from UPI on-line
- Top N.Y. Poet Kills Self obituary from NY Post on-line
- "autobiographical note" A piece Rector wrote for the Web site PoetryNet when he was their Poet of the Month for September 2004
- "When the Parents Went" and "Back to Country with Pulitzer links to two Rector poems at PoetryNet when Rector was Poet of the Month (SEPT 2004)
- Liam Rector First Book Prize for Poetry Poetry Prize named after Liam Rector.
- Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University: Liam Rector papers
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