Henry Braun (July 25, 1930 – Oct. 11, 2014) was an American poet, teacher, and peace activist.

Biography

Henry Braun was born in Olean, New York in 1930. His mother died when he was two years old, and he grew up in an orphanage and foster homes in Buffalo. He was later raised by his father, and attended Hutchinson Central High School. Braun left the

University of Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...

after his freshman year and attended

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

on a full scholarship, where he studied with Claude Vigee and

J.V. Cunningham James Vincent Cunningham (August 23, 1911 – March 30, 1985) was an American poet, literary critic and teacher. Background Cunningham is described as a neo-classicist or anti-modernist. His poetry was distinguished by its clarity, brevity and t ...

. He also met Joan Lapedos, his future wife.Henry Braun (1930-2014)
/ref> After graduating from Brandeis, he spent a year in France on a

Fulbright The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

. He and Joan married in France on June 14, 1956. Braun returned to Brandeis for an M.A. before studying at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

, where he knew

Robert Lowell Robert Traill Spence Lowell IV (; March 1, 1917 – September 12, 1977) was an American poet. He was born into a Boston Brahmin family that could trace its origins back to the ''Mayflower''. His family, past and present, were important subjects ...

as a professor and

Anne Sexton Anne Sexton (born Anne Gray Harvey; November 9, 1928 – October 4, 1974) was an American poet known for her highly personal, confessional poetry, confessional verse. She won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1967 for her book ''Live or Die (book ...

and Donald Junkins as classmates. In the 1960s he opposed the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, organizing poetry read-ins, donating his war tax dollars to a veterans' hospital and to Philadelphia public schools (for which he was convicted of tax evasion) and organizing a draft card turn-in at the Justice Department (for which he was an unindicted co-conspirator at the "Boston Five" trial). Braun taught literature and creative writing was at

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

, including a year at Temple's campus in Japan. He also organized poetry events at the Philadelphia YM-YWHA and was a frequent teacher at

Robert Bly Robert Elwood Bly (December 23, 1926 – November 21, 2021) was an American poet, essayist, activist and leader of the mythopoetic men's movement. His best-known prose book is '' Iron John: A Book About Men'' (1990), which spent 62 weeks on ...

's Conference on the Great Mother and the New Father. In 1968 his first poetry collection, ''The Vergil Woods,'' was published by Atheneum and nominated for the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

. His book, ''Loyalty: New and Selected Poems,'' was the first offering of Off the Grid Press. He was a Contributing Editor for 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 ...

. He lived off the grid in Weld, Maine with his wife until his death in 2014. In 2015 the Henry Braun Memorial Poetry Prize was instituted through the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine, United States. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universitie ...

System and is open to a past or present student or graduate student between 18 and 35 years of age.

Bibliography

* ''The Vergil Woods'' (Atheneum, 1968) * ''Loyalty: New and Selected Poems'' (Off the Grid Press, 2006)

External links

* http://www.henrybraun.net
Rest-in-Peace Henry Braun 1930-2014
at

Poetry Foundation The Poetry Foundation is a United States literary society that seeks to promote poetry and lyricism in the wider culture. It was formed from ''Poetry'' magazine, which it continues to publish, with a 2003 gift of $200 million from philanthrop ...

Complete text
of ''The Vergil Woods''
Henry Braun
at Off the Grid Press

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Braun, Henry Brandeis University alumni Boston University alumni American male poets Temple University faculty