Jonathan Holden (July 18, 1941 – December 20, 2024) was an American poet. He was the first Poet Laureate of

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

and a

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of English at

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant coll ...

Manhattan, Kansas Manhattan is a city in and the county seat of Riley County, Kansas, United States, although the city extends into Pottawatomie County, Kansas, Pottawatomie County. It is located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of the Kansas River and Big ...

. Chosen in 2004, his two-year term began July 1, 2005. He was succeeded by Denise Low on July 1, 2007.

Biography

Holden was born in

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a Town (New Jersey), town in and the county seat of Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

on July 18, 1941. He received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

from

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

in 1963. From 1963 to 1965, he was an

editorial An editorial, or leading article (UK) or leader (UK), is an article or any other written document, often unsigned, written by the senior editorial people or publisher of a newspaper or magazine, that expresses the publication's opinion about ...

assistant for Cambridge Book Company in

Bronxville Bronxville is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States, located approximately north of Midtown Manhattan. It is part of the Adminis ...

, New Jersey. He then taught math at a high school in

West Orange, New Jersey West Orange is a suburban Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 48,843, an increase of 2,636 (+5.7%) from t ...

until 1968. In 1970, he received a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in creative writing from

San Francisco State College San Francisco State University (San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It was established in 1899 as the San Francisco State Normal School and is part of the Califor ...

. He received a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in English from the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

in 1974. From 1974 to 1978, he was "poet in residence" at

Stephens College Stephens College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Timeline of women's colleges in the United States#First and oldest, the second-oldest women's educa ...

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1821 as the county seat of Boone County, Missouri, Boone County and had a population of 126,254 as recorded in the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Misso ...

. He moved to

in 1978, where he joined

. There he became "poet in residence" and University Distinguished Professor of English. In 1991, he became Thursten P. Morton Professor at the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

. In 2000, he served on 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 ...

poetry selection committee. In 2004, the governor appointed him poet laureate, with his term beginning the following July 1, 2005. Holden died in Manhattan on December 20, 2024, at the age of 83.

As poet Laureate

During his tenure as Kansas Poet Laureate, Holden instigated a statewide video teleconf program titled SHOPTALK, in conjunction with Kansas State University’s TELENET 2 program.kansaspoets.com
, SHOPTALK SHOPTALK provided insight to poetry and poetry writing; the program provided a platform for Mr. Holden to have interactive poetry discussions with a live audience. Several notable Kansas poets appeared as guests on the program. As Poet Laureate, Holden was also active as an advisor for "kansaspoets.com", a website specifically dedicated to Kansas poets and poetry. As well, Holden was guest editor for '' The Midwest Quarterly''.pittstate.edu
The Midwest Quarterly], a Journal of Contemporary Thought, Pittsburg State University, editor Stephen Meats, (Summer, 2007 V. XLVIII, No. 4) Dedicated to Kansas poets and poetry The particular issue cited features over 60 Kansas poets plus special recognition to both Jonathan Holden and Denise Low. The issue received a very positive review fro
Literary Magazine Review
(V. 25 Nos. 3 & 4 Fall & Winter), Jennifer Brantley, editor.

Publications and awards

Holden published 18 books, all monographs, in addition to more than 190 poems published in professional journals.

Publications

* Design for a House: Poems, University of Missouri Press, 1972 * The Mark to Turn: A Reading of William Stafford's Poetry, University Press of Kansas, 1976. * The Rhetoric of the Contemporary Lyric, Indiana University Press, 1980. * Leverage, University Press of Virginia, 1983 * Falling from Stardom, Carnegie-Mellon University Press, 1984. * The Names of the Rapids, University of Massachusetts Press, 1985. * Style and Authenticity of Postmodern Poetry, University of Missouri Press, 1986. * Landscapes of the Self: The Development of Richard Hugo's Poetry, Associated Faculty Press, 1986. * Against Paradise, University of Utah Press, 1990. * The Fate of American Poetry, University of Georgia Press, 1991 * American Gothic: Poems, University of Georgia Press, 1992. * Brilliant Kids, University of Utah Press, 1992. * The Sublime: Poems, University of North Texas Press, 1995. * Guns and Boyhood in America, University of Michigan Press, 1997. * The Old Formalism: Character in Contemporary American Poetry, University of Arkansas Press, 1999. * Knowing: New and Selected Poems, University of Arkansas Press, 2000. * Mama's Boys: A Double Life, Lewis-Clark Press, 2007

Awards

*1972: Devins Award for Poetry *1974:

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

grant *1975:

Borestone Mountain Poetry Awards The ''Borestone Mountain Poetry Awards'' was an annual series of poetry anthologies first published in 1949. The poems were selected from those published in a given year in English-language magazines and books; in each volume, individual poems wer ...

*1978: Aspen Foundation for the Arts Prize *1979: ''

Kansas Quarterly ''Arkansas Review: A Journal of Delta Studies'' is an interdisciplinary humanities journal that focuses on the seven states of the Mississippi River Delta. Each issue of the journal contains fiction, nonfiction, poetic, and visual art works which ...

'' first award *1982: Associated Writing Programs award series in poetry *1984, 1985:

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 feder ...

creative writing fellowship *1985: Juniper Prize *1986: Distinguished Faculty Award *1995: Vassar Miller Prize

Sources

www.jonathanholden.com

www.kansaspoets.com

Biles, Jan . "Passion for poetry drives incoming poet laureate." ''The Capital-Journal''. May 26, 2007. Online. May 2, 2008.

''Contemporary Authors Online'', Gale, 2008. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008. Document Number: H1000046450. Online. May 2, 2008.

Eberhart, John Mark."State lines: Rhyme on one side, no reason on the other." ''Kansas City Star''. 2004-12-26. Page 7. Online. May 2, 2008.

Online. May 2, 2008.]