Lyn Hejinian ( ; May 17, 1941 – February 24, 2024) was an American poet, essayist, translator, and publisher. She is often associated with the

Language poets The Language poets (or L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E (magazine), ''L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E'' poets, after the magazine of that name) are an avant-garde group or tendency in United States poetry that emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The poets included: Berna ...

and is known for her landmark work ''My Life'' ( Sun & Moon, 1987, original version Burning Deck, 1980), as well as her book of essays, ''The Language of Inquiry'' (University of California Press, 2000).

Biography

Lyn Hejinian was born in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

to Carolyn Erskine and Chaffee Earl Hall, Jr. She attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

where she met and married John P. Hejinian in 1961. She graduated from

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

in 1963. Lyn and John had two children and eventually divorced. Hejinian lived in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

, with her husband composer/musician Larry Ochs. She published over a dozen books of poetry and numerous books of essays as well as two volumes of translations of the Russian poet

Arkadii Dragomoshchenko Arkadii Trofimovich Dragomoshchenko ( rus, Арка́дий Трофи́мович Драгомо́щенко, p=ɐrˈkadʲɪj trɐˈfʲiməvʲɪdʑ drəɡɐˈmoɕːɪnkə, a=Arkadiy Trofimovich Dragomoschyenko.ru.vorb.oga; 1946 – 12 September 2 ...

. From 1976 to 1984 she was editor of Tuumba Press, and from 1981 to 1999 she co-edited (with

Barrett Watten Barrett Watten (born October 3, 1948) is an American poet, editor, and educator associated with the Language poets. He is a professor of English at Wayne State University in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, where he teaches modernism and cultural stu ...

) ''Poetics Journal''. She was the co-editor of ''Atelos'', which publishes cross-genre collaborations between poets and other artists. Hejinian also worked on a number of collaborative projects with painters, musicians, and filmmakers. With Tom Mandel,

Ron Silliman Ron Silliman (born August 5, 1946) is an American poet. He has written and edited over 30 books, and has had his poetry and criticism translated into 12 languages. He is often associated with language poetry. Between 1979 and 2004, Silliman w ...

Kit Robinson Kit Robinson (born May 17, 1949) is an American poet, translator, writer and musician. An early member of the San Francisco Language poets circle, he has published 28 books of poetry. Life and work Born in Evanston, Illinois, Robinson graduated ...

, Carla Harryman,

Rae Armantrout Rae Armantrout (born April 13, 1947) is an American poet generally associated with the Language poets. She has published more than two dozen books, including both poetry and prose. Armantrout was awarded the 2009 National Book Critics Circle Aw ...

Ted Pearson Ted Pearson (born 1948 in Palo Alto, California) is an American poet. He is often associated with the Language poets. Life and work Pearson was born in 1948 in Palo Alto, California. He began studying music in 1960 and began writing poetry in 196 ...

, Steve Benson, and

Bob Perelman Bob Perelman (born December 2, 1947) is an American poet, critic, editor, and teacher. He was an early exponent of the Language poets, an avant-garde movement, originating in the 1970s. He has helped shape a "formally adventurous, politically e ...

, she was a co-author of ''The Grand Piano: An Experiment in Collective Autobiography.'' (Detroit, MI: Mode A/This Press, 2006–2010). With Leslie Scalapino, she organized Poets in Need to assist poets facing crises. She taught poetics and contemporary literature at

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. Hejinian lectured in Russia and around Europe. She received grants and awards from the California Arts Council, 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 outrea ...

, the Poetry Fund, the

National Endowment of 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 ...

, and the Guggenheim Foundation and served as a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets from 2007 to 2012. Hejinian sponsored the NBC Thursday Night DeCal course at

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

. Hejinian died on February 24, 2024, at the age of 82.

Bibliography

* ''a gRReat adventure''. Self-published, 1972. * ''A Thought is the Bride of What Thinking''. Berkeley, CA: Tuumba Press, 1976. * ''A Mask of Motion''. Providence, RI: Burning Deck, 1977. * ''Gesualdo''. Berkeley, CA: Tuumba Press, 1978. * ''Writing is an Aid to Memory''. Great Barrington, MA: The Figures, 1978. * ''My Life''. Providence, RI: Burning Deck, 1980. * ''The Guard''. Berkeley, CA: Tuumba Press, 1984. * ''Redo''. Grenada, Miss.: Salt-Works Press, 1984. * ''My Life''. (revised and expanded) LA: Sun & Moon Press, 1987. * ''Individuals''. (written with Kit Robinson) Tucson, AZ: Chax Press, 1988. * ''Leningrad : American writers in the Soviet Union'' (with Michael Davidson,

& Barrett Watten). San Francisco, 1991. * ''The Hunt''. La Lasuna: Zasterle Press, 1991. * ''Oxota: A Short Russian Novel''. Great Barrington, MA: The Figures, 1991. * ''The Cell''. LA: Sun & Moon Press, 1992. * ''Jour de Chasse''. trans. Pierre Alferi. Cahiers de Royaumont, 1992. * ''The Cold of Poetry''. LA: Sun & Moon Press, 1994. * ''Two Stein Talks''. Santa Fe, NM: Weaselsleeves Press, 1996. * ''Wicker.'' (written with Jack Collom) Boulder, CO: Rodent Press. 1996. * ''The Little Book of A Thousand Eyes''. Boulder, CO: Smoke-Proof Press, 1996. * ''Writing is an Aid to Memory''. Reprint, Los Angeles: Sun & Moon Press, 1996. * ''Guide, Grammar, Watch, and The Thirty Nights''. Western Australia: Folio, 1996. * ''A Book from A Border Comedy''. Los Angeles: Seeing Eye Books, 1997. * ''The Traveler and the Hill, and the Hill''. (with Emilie Clark) New York: Granary Books, 1998. * ''Sight''. (written with

Leslie Scalapino Leslie Scalapino (July 25, 1944 – May 28, 2010) was an American poet, experimental prose writer, playwright, essayist, and editor, sometimes grouped in with the Language poets, though she felt closely tied to the Beat poets. Writes Hejinian: ...

) Washington DC: Edge Books, 1999. * ''Happily''. Sausalito, CA: Post-Apollo Press, 2000. * ''Chartings''. (written with Ray DiPalma) Tucson:

Chax Press Charles Alexander (born 1954) is an American poet, publisher, and book artist. He is the director and editor-in-chief of Chax Press. Alexander also served as the director of the Minnesota Center for the Book Arts from 1993 until 1995, and as book ...

, 2000. * ''Sunflower''. (written with Jack Collom) Great Barrington MA: The Figures, 2000. * ''The Language of Inquiry''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000. * ''The Beginner''. New York: Spectacular Books, 2001. * ''A Border Comedy''. New York: Granary Books, 2001. * ''My Life''. Reprints Sun & Moon edition; Los Angeles: Green Integer, 2002. * ''Slowly''. Berkeley: Tuumba Press, 2002. * ''The Beginner''. Berkeley: Tuumba Press, 2002. * ''The Fatalist''. Richmond, CA: Omnidawn Publishing, 2003. * ''My Life in the Nineties''. New York: Shark Books, 2003. * ''Saga/Circus''. Richmond, CA: Omnidawn Publishing, 2008. * ''The Lake'' (with artist Emilie Clark). New York: Granary Books, 2004. * ''The Book of a Thousand Eyes''. Richmond, CA: Omnidawn Publishing, 2012. * ''My Life and My Life in the Nineties''. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2013 (reprints previous volumes). * ''The Unfollowing''. Oakland, CA: Omnidawn Publishing, 2016. * ''Positions of the Sun''. New York, NY: Belladonna, 2018. * ''Tribunal''. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2019. * ''Oxota: A Short Russian Novel''. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2019. * ''Hearing'' (with Leslie Scalapino). Brooklyn, NY: Litmus Press, 2021. * ''Allegorical Moments: Call to the Everyday''. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2023. * ''Fall Creek''. Brooklyn, NY: Litmus Press, 2024. * ''The Proposition: Uncollected Early Poems 1963-1983''. Edinburgh University Press, forthcoming 2024.

Translations

* ''Description''. poems by Arkadii Dragomoshchenko. LA: Sun & Moon Press, 1990. * "Arkadii Dragomoshchenko selections" in ''Third Wave: The New Russian Poetry'', ed. Kent Johnson and Stephen Ashby. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1992. * ''Xenia''. poems by Arkadii Dragomoshchenko. LA: Sun & Moon Press. 1994.

Editor

* ''A Guide to Poetics Journal: Writing in the Expanded Field 1982-1998'' (with Barrett Watten). Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2013. * ''Poetics Journal Digital Archive'' (with Barrett Watten). Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2014.

Critical studies and reviews of Hejinian's work

* * Christopher Beach, "'Events Were Not Lacking': David Antin's Talk Poems, Lyn Hejinian's ''My Life'', and the Poetics of Cultural Memory," in Edward Foster and Joseph Donahue, eds, ''The World in Time and Space: Towards a History of Innovative American Poetry in Our Time'', ''Talisman'' 23-26 (2002). * ''Aerial 10: Lyn Hejinian''. Edited Rod Smith & Jen Hofer (2015).

References

External links

Lyn Hejinian at the Electronic Poetry Center

Lyn Hejinian at PennSound

Lyn Hejinian at the Poetry Foundation

Lyn Hejinian at the Academy of American Poets

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hejinian, Lyn 1941 births 2024 deaths 20th-century American poets 21st-century American poets Iowa Writers' Workshop faculty Language poets Roberta C. Holloway Lecturer in the Practice of Poetry Russian–English translators University of California, Berkeley College of Letters and Science faculty Writers from the San Francisco Bay Area American women poets 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers 20th-century American translators 21st-century American translators Harvard College alumni