Liam Rector (born Ronald Edward 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 National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

, the

Academy of American Poets The Academy of American Poets is a national, member-supported organization that promotes poets and the art of poetry. The nonprofit organization was incorporated in the state of New York in 1934. It fosters the readership of poetry through outreach ...

, and the

Folger Shakespeare Library The Folger Shakespeare Library is an independent research library on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., United States. It has the world's largest collection of the printed works of William Shakespeare, and is a primary repository for rare materi ...

. He was also the founder of the graduate Writing Seminars program at

Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont. Founded in 1932 as a women's college, it became co-educational in 1969. It claims to be the first college to include visual and performing arts as an equal partner in ...

Life and work

Ronald Edward Rector was born in Washington, D.C.; he adopted the name Liam in adulthood. He was educated at various undergraduate programs but did not receive a bachelor's degree; he did, however, receive master's degrees in writing from

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

and in public administration from the

Harvard Kennedy School The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

. He 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). Rector was married three times, with the first two marriages ending in divorce; he had a daughter from his second marriage. With his third wife, Tree Swenson, he edited ''On the Poetry of

Frank Bidart Frank Bidart (born May 27, 1939) is an American academic and poet, and a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Biography Bidart is a native of California and considered a career in acting or directing when he was young. In 1957, he began to s ...

: Fastening the Voice to the Page'' (University of Michigan, 2007), and edited ''The Day I Was Older: On the Poetry of

Donald Hall Donald Andrew Hall Jr. (September 20, 1928 – June 23, 2018) was an American poet, writer, editor and literary critic. He was the author of over 50 books across several genres from children's literature, biography, memoir, essays, and includin ...

'' (Story Line, 1989). Rector founded and directed the graduate writing seminars at Bennington College in Vermont and taught at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

The New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

, and Emerson College. Rector committed suicide by gunshot in his

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

apartment on August 15, 2007, at the age of 57. He had incurred a series of health problems in his last years, including heart disease and cancer, and mentioned this in his suicide note.

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.

Bibliography

Poetry

* ''The Sorrow of Architecture: Poems.'' Port Townsend, WA: Dragon Gate, 1984. * '' American Prodigal: Poems.'' Brownsville, OR: Story Line Press, 1994. * '' The Executive Director of the Fallen World.'' Chicago:

University of Chicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including ''The Chicago Manual of Style'', ...

, 2006.

Editor

* ''The Day I Was Older: On the poetry of Donald Hall.'' Santa Cruz, CA: Story Line Press, 1989. * '' On Frank Bidart: Fastening the voice to the page'' (edited with Tree Swenson). Ann Arbor, MI:

University of Michigan Press The University of Michigan Press is part of Michigan Publishing at the University of Michigan Library. It publishes 170 new titles each year in the humanities and social sciences. Titles from the press have earned numerous awards, including ...

, 2007.

References

External links

"An interview by Sarah Kanning.." The Free Library. 2005 World Poetry, Inc.
- this interview was first published in “

The American Poetry Review ''The American Poetry Review'' (''APR'') is an American poetry magazine printed every other month on tabloid-sized newsprint. It was founded in 1972 by Stephen Berg and Stephen Parker in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The magazine's editor is Elizabet ...

” (Vol. 34, No. 5 (SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2005), pp. 37–41 as a Special APR Supplement: Liam Rector
except 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)

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

obituary from NY Post on-line

A piece Rector wrote for the Web site PoetryNet when he was their Poet of the Month for September 2004; includin

one of several Rector poems published at PoetryNet when Rector was Poet of the Month during September 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
- links to four poems at the Writer’s Almanac site popularized by Garrison Keillor: “First Marriage”, “The Old Man and the Motorcycle”, “Off to the Country of Cancer”, and ”Twenty-three” {{DEFAULTSORT:Rector, Liam 1949 births 2007 deaths 2007 suicides 20th-century American educators 20th-century American poets 21st-century American educators 21st-century American poets American male poets Bennington College faculty Columbia University faculty Emerson College faculty Folger Shakespeare Library Harvard Kennedy School alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni People from Greenwich Village Poets from Washington, D.C. Suicides by firearm in New York City Writers from Manhattan