Richard Stanley Allen (August 8, 1939 – December 26, 2017) was an
American poet, literary critic and academic.
Early life
The son of Richard Sanders Allen, a writer and historian, and Doris (née Bishop), a postmaster, Allen was educated at the College of Liberal Arts at
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...
(A.B. 1961), then at the
Brown University
Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
graduate school (M.A. 1964), and subsequently undertook two years of post-Masters work.
Career
Having been a teaching assistant at Brown whilst studying, he went on to teach creative writing and English literature at
Wright State University
Wright State University is a public research university in Fairborn, Ohio, United States. Originally opened in 1964 as a branch campus of Miami University and Ohio State University, it became an independent institution in 1967 and was named in ...
from 1964-8, then the
University of Bridgeport
The University of Bridgeport (UB or UBPT) is a private university in Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States. The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. In 2021, the university was purchased by Goodwin Unive ...
. When he retired, he was the Charles A. Dana Endowed Chair Professor at the University of Bridgeport.
From July 1, 2010, through June 30, 2015, he served as Connecticut's
poet laureate. During this time he wrote the poem "Solace" in remembrance of the victims of the shootings at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, CT. This poem was subsequently set to music by the composer William Bolcom.
Allen was co-editor of several anthologies of science fiction and science fiction criticism,
[Dick Allen, Space Sonnets segment, Skeltonics for Poets and Others]
/ref> and his book, ''Overnight in the Guest House of the Mystic,'' was a finalist for the 1984 National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry. He was one of the founders of the Expansive Poetry movement. His influences included Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, minister, abolitionism, abolitionist, and poet who led the Transcendentalism, Transcendentalist movement of th ...
, A.E. Housman, Ben Jonson
Benjamin Jonson ( 11 June 1572 – ) was an English playwright, poet and actor. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence on English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for the satire, satirical ...
, Robert Frost
Robert Lee Frost (March26, 1874January29, 1963) was an American poet. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American Colloquialism, colloquial speech, Frost frequently wrote about settings from rural life in New E ...
His poems appeared in many journals, including ''Poetry
Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
'', ''The Atlantic Monthly
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 ...
'', ''The New Republic
''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...
'', ''The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'', ''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 Elizab ...
'', '' Ploughshares'', ''The Kenyon Review
''The Kenyon Review'' is a literary magazine based in Gambier, Ohio, home of Kenyon College. ''The Review'' was founded in 1939 by John Crowe Ransom, critic and professor of English at Kenyon College, who served as its editor until 1959. ''T ...
'', '' The Hudson Review'', ''The Massachusetts Review
''The Massachusetts Review'' is a literary quarterly founded in 1959 by a group of professors from Amherst College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. It receives financial support from Five Colle ...
'', '' The Yale Review'', ''Boulevard'', '' The Gettysburg Review'', ''JuxtaProse Literary Magazine'', and ''The New Criterion
''The New Criterion'' is a New York–based monthly literary magazine and journal of artistic and cultural criticism, edited by Roger Kimball (editor and publisher) and James Panero (executive editor). It has sections for criticism of poetry ...
''.
Awards and recognition
* Finalist, National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry, ''Overnight in the Guest House of the Mystic'', 1984
* Robert Frost Prize
* Hart Crane Poetry Prize
* Pushcart Prize
* New Criterion Poetry Prize, ''This Shadowy Place'', 2013.Dick Allen wins 2013 New Criterion Poetry Prize by Brian P. Kelly - The New Criterion
/ref>
* Poems included in:
** ''The Best American Poetry'' volumes for 1991
It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...
, 1994
The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations.
In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
, 1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
, 1999
1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons.
Events January
* January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers.
* January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
and 2006
2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification.
Events
January
* January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute.
* January 12 – A stampede during t ...
** ''Scanning the Century: The Penguin Book of the Twentieth Century in Poetry'' (1999
1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons.
Events January
* January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers.
* January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
)
* Poetry writing fellowships:
** National Endowment for the Arts
** Ingram Merrill Foundation
Bibliography
Poetry
;Collections
*
* ''Regions With No Proper Names'' (St. Martin's Press, 1975)
* ''Overnight in the Guest House of the Mystic'' (Louisiana State University Press, 1984)
* ''Flight and Pursuit'' (Louisiana State University Press, 1987)
* ''Ode to the Cold War: Poems New and Selected'' (Sarabande, 1997
Events January
* January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States.
* January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis.
* January 1 ...
)
* ''The Day Before: New Poems'' (Sarabande Books, 2003
2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater.
In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War.
Demographic ...
)
* '' Present Vanishing'' (Sarabande Books, 2008)
* '' This Shadowy Place'' (St. Augustines Press, 2014)
* '' Zen Master Poems'' (Wisdom Publications, 2016)
;List of poems
See also
* Expansive Poetry
Notes
External links
Dick Allen's Home Page
, ''Cortland Review''
Sources
Poems online
* ttp://www.poems.com/tenteall.htm "On Tenterhooks"
"The Weeks Before"
"As If I Wasn't There"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Dick
1939 births
2017 deaths
The Atlantic (magazine) people
Poets laureate of Connecticut
Poets from Connecticut
Poets from New York (state)
University of Bridgeport
Writers from Troy, New York