1. Galway Kinnell
“What troubles me is a sense that so many things lovely
and precious in our world seems to be dying out. Perhaps
Poetry will be the canary in the mineshaft warning us of
what’s to come.”
By Victoria May Khaze

2. General Information
• Born Feb. 1st, 1927
• Lived in Providence, Rhode Island
• Considered himself an introvert
• Loved Walt Whitman and believed
that the imaginary world did not
grant any sort of fulfillment
• Inspired to write poetry from
reading Edgar Alan Poe and Emily
Dickenson
• Particularly enjoyed the musical
aspect of poetry

3. Education & Awards
• Graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University
• “Took” his Masters Degree at University of Rochester
• Chancellor of The Academy of American Poets
• Shelley Prize of the Poetry Society of America (1974)
• Medal of Merit from National Institute of Arts and Letters (1975)
• Frost Medal by the Poetry Society of America (2002)
• MacArthur Fellowship
• Awarded a Rockefeller Grant
• Awarded Pulitzer Prize (1982)
• Awarded the National Book Award (1982)

4. Politics
• After serving in the United States Navy he spent several years of his life traveling
• He favored traveling to France and Iran
• He returned to the US to join in the radical political movements
• Worked for the Congress on Racial Equality
• Got arrested while participating in a workplace integration in Louisiana
• Was against the Vietnam War

5. Publications
• What a Kingdom It Was (1960)
• Flower Herding on Mount Monadnock (1964)
• Body Rags (1968)
• The Book of Nightmares; a book-length poem about the Vietnam War (1971)
• Strong Is Your Hold (2006)
• A Imperfect Thirst (1996)
• When One Has Lived a Long Time Alone (1990)
• Mortal Acts, Mortal Words (1980)
• Walking Down the Stairs, a novel (1978)
• Black Light (1966)
• How the Alligator Missed Breakfast, a Children's Book (1982)
• Strong is Your Hold (2006)
ETC…ETC…ETC…

6. References
• http://galwaykinnell.com/about/
• http://www.downtownexpress.com/2012/06/13/covering-battery-park-
city-45/
• http://poemshape.wordpress.com/2012/07/06/the-senses-the-art-of-
imagery/
• http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/galway-kinnell
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/212
• http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoet.do?poetId=2637
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galway_Kinnell

7. Audio Only
After Making Love
We Hear Foot Steps
Blackberry Eating
Video