Rod Jellema (1927–2018) was an American

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wr ...

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

, and

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

Life

Jellema held a B.A. from

Calvin College Calvin University, formerly Calvin College, is a private Christian university in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Founded in 1876, Calvin University is an educational institution of the Christian Reformed Church and stands in the Reformed (Calvinist) ...

and a PhD from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

(Scotland). He began teaching at the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of ...

in 1955, where he founded and directed the creative writing program. At the time of his death, he was Professor Emeritus. He was the author of five books of poetry and three translations. His work was awarded the

Hart Crane Memorial Poetry Contest Hart often refers to: * Hart (deer) Hart may also refer to: Organizations * Hart Racing Engines, a former Formula One engine manufacturer * Hart Skis, US ski manufacturer * Hart Stores, a Canadian chain of department stores * Hart's Reptil ...

, the

Pieter Jelles Prize Pieter is a male given name, the Dutch form of Peter. The name has been one of the most common names in the Netherlands for centuries, but since the mid-twentieth century its popularity has dropped steadily, from almost 3000 per year in 1947 ...

(Piter Jellespriis) (

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

) and a

Columbia University Translation Prize Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region ...

for his translations of

Frisian Frisian most often refers to: * Frisia, a cross-border coastal region in Germany and the Netherlands **Frisians, the medieval and modern ethnic group inhabiting Frisia ***Frisii, the ancient inhabitants of Frisia prior to 600 AD **Frisian language ...

poetry. He was the recipient of fellowships from 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 federa ...

, and

Yaddo Yaddo is an artists' community located on a estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is "to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment.". On March ...

. His work appeared in various publications including ''

Atlanta Review ''Atlanta Review'' is an international poetry journal based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded by Daniel Veach in 1994 and is published twice a year. Karen Head of the Georgia Institute of Technology became editor in 2016. The jo ...

'', '' Beltway Poetry Quarterly'', ''

Field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

'', ''

Many Mountains Moving Many may refer to: * grammatically plural in number *an English quantifier used with count nouns indicating a large but indefinite number of; at any rate, more than a few ;Place names * Many, Moselle, a commune of the Moselle department in Fra ...

'', '' Plum Review'', and ''

Poet Lore ''Poet Lore'' is an English-language literary magazine based in Bethesda, Maryland. Established in 1889 by Charlotte Porter and Helen Archibald Clarke, two progressive young Shakespeare scholars who believed in the evolutionary nature of literatu ...

''. He divided his time between

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the ju ...

, and the Lake Michigan dunelands near

Montague, Michigan Montague is a city in Muskegon County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,361 at the 2010 census. The city is located within Montague Township, but is politically independent. The Montague ZIP code 49437 also serves all of Mon ...

. He had been working on an early history of New Orleans jazz titled ''Really Hot: A New Hearing for Old New Orleans Jazz'' (co-authored with the late Gordon Darrah).http://www.rodjellema.com/ projects on author website

Bibliography

Poetry *''Incarnality: The Collected Poems of Rod Jellema'' (

Eerdmans William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company is a religious publishing house based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Founded in 1911 by Dutch American William B. Eerdmans (November 4, 1882 – April 1966) and still independently owned with William's daught ...

2010) *''A Slender Grace: Poems'' (

, 2004) *''The Eighth Day: New & Selected Poems'' (

Dryad Press Dryad Press is an American small press and publisher. History Dryad Press got its beginning in 1967 when Merrill Leffler and Neil Lehrman founded ''Dryad'' magazine. Leffler was a writer and editor and is currently the poet laureate of Takoma P ...

, 1984) *''Something Tugging the Line'' (

, 1974) *''The Lost Faces'' (Dryad Press), 1979 Translations *''The Sound That Remains: A Historical Collection of Frisian Poetry'' (

, 1990) *''Country Fair: Poems from Friesland Since 1945'' (

, 1985)

References

External links

Author's official website
in '' Beltway Poetry Quarterly'' * Dryad Press records at

University of Maryland Libraries The University of Maryland Libraries is the largest university library in the Washington, D.C. - Baltimore area. The university's library system includes eight libraries: six are located on the College Park campus, while the Severn Library, an o ...

. The collection contains correspondence, manuscripts, publications, and photographs by and of Jellema. American people of Frisian descent American male poets Translators to English Alumni of the University of Edinburgh University of Maryland, College Park faculty 1927 births 2018 deaths People from Montague, Michigan 20th-century translators {{US-poet-1920s-stub