John Koethe

Infobox Writer
name = John L. Koethe


imagesize = 200px
caption = John Koethe, publicity still shot.
birthdate = birth date and age|1945|12|25
birthplace = San Diego, California
occupation = Poet, philosopher, author
nationality = United States
period =
genre =
subject =
movement =
influences = William Wordsworth; Marcel Proust
influenced =
website =

John Koethe (born 25 December 1945) is an American poet and essayist. Originally from San Diego, California, he was educated at Princeton University and Harvard University, and is currently a professor of philosophy at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. [ [http://www.uwm.edu/Library/special/exhibits/milpoets/koethe1.htm "John Koethe," UWM biography] ]

Inspiration and influences

Koethe has stated that the inspiration for many of his poems comes "in the shower, and while I'm shaving." He has said he loves living in Wisconsin, and that he finds the state beautiful. He has titled several of his poems after places in his hometown of Milwaukee, including "Hackett Avenue." [http://www.onmilwaukee.com/ent/articles/koethe.html "John Koethe: poet, philosopher, East Sider," OnMilwaukee.com] ]

As influences on his poetry, he identifies several people, including famed writers William Wordsworth and Marcel Proust.

Writing career

Koethe's published work includes "Blue Vents" (Audit/Poetry, 1969), "Domes" (Columbia University Press, 1973), "The Late Wisconsin Spring" (Princeton University Press, 1984), "The Continuity of Wittgenstein's Thought" (Cornell University Press, 1996), "Falling Water" (HarperPerennial, 1997), "The Constructor," (HarperFlamingo, 1999), "Poetry at One Remove" (University of Michigan Press, 2000) and "North Point North: New and Selected Poems" (HarperCollins, 2002). [http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=80726 "John Koethe," Poetry Foundation] ] His most recent books include "Scepticism, Knowledge, and Forms of Reasoning" (Cornell University Press, 2005) and "Sally's Hair" (HarperCollins, 2006). [ [http://www.amazon.com/s/qid=1217802835/ref=sr_pg_1?ie=UTF8&rs=1000&rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Cp%5F27%3AJohn%20Koethe&page=1 Amazon.com page for John Koethe] ]

Koethe has also contributed poetry and essays to publications including "Poetry", "Paris Review", "Quarterly Review of Literature", "Parnassus", and "Art News".His work has been included in anthologies of poetry, including "The Best American Poetry (2003)". [cite book | last = Ed.) | first = (Cloth | title = Best American Poetry | publisher = SCRIBNER POETRY (NY) | location = United States | year = 2003 | isbn = 0743203879 ] Additionally, he was selected to contribute his views on contemporary poetry for the book "Ecstatic Occasions, Expedient Forms", which billed him as one of "85 leading contemporary poets." [cite book | last = Lehman | first = David | title = Ecstatic Occasions, Expedient Forms | publisher = University of Michigan Press | location = Ann Arbor | year = 1996 | isbn = 0472066331 ]

Critical reception

Koethe's work has been well-received by critics and academicians. John Freeman, writing in the "Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel", praised "Sally's Hair" by noting: "We're wrapped around [Koethe's] finger." He cited passages that alternatively explored the poet's most intimate layers before "ricochet [ing] back out into airy ponderings." [ [http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=415561 "With 'Sally's Hair,' we're wrapped around UWM poet's finger"] , review by John Freeman, special to the "Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel", 14 April 2006.]

Robert Hahn, writing for "The Kenyon Review", noted how Koethe's poetry paid homage to legendary literary influences, yet still retained a distinctively trenchant voice. Hahn praised Koethe as a poet of "striking and significant originality." [ [http://www.cstone.net/~poems/essahahn.htm "'Drawing by Michelangelo, Color by Titian': Of Originality, Influence, and the Poetry of John Koethe"] , by Robert Hahn, for "The Kenyon Review", Fall 2004.]

Andrew Yaphe, writing in the "Chicago Review", hailed Koethe as being “widely recognized as one of our foremost Romantic poets, an inheritor of the tradition of Stevens and Ashbery.” [ [http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-10778963_ITM “The Romantic Futility of John Koethe,” Chicago Review, March 22, 2001 (library card access required)] ] And Prof. Bill Olsen of Western Michigan University prefixed a January 2005 public reading by Koethe by stating: "Reading or hearing a John Koethe poem is like listening to yourself – like hearing parts of your own consciousness for the first time." [ [http://media.www.westernherald.com/media/storage/paper881/news/2005/01/13/Ae/Renowned.Poet.To.Read.From.New.Book-2123310.shtml "Renowned poet to read from new book," The Herald, January 13, 2005] ]

Honors and awards

Koethe's "Domes" won the Frank O'Hara Award for Poetry, and his "Falling Water" won the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award from Claremont Graduate University. [ [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/poetryeverywhere/uwm/koethe.html "John Koethe," Poetry Everywhere-PBS] ] He has been granted fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts [ [http://www.lakemills.lib.wi.us/whatsnew/aquisitions/wisconsin_authors.htm "Wisconsin Authors," L.D. Fargo Public Library] ] and he has been nominated for the New Yorker Book Award, the Boston Book Review Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and the Boston Book Review Book Award. He is a fellow of the American Academy in Berlin, and the recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the Council for Wisconsin Writers. [ [http://www.graduateschool.uwm.edu/research/features/distinguished-professors/john-koethe/ "Distinguished Professor: John Koethe," UW-Milwaukee Graduate School] ]

In February 2000, Koethe was named the first poet laureate for the city of Milwaukee, for which he received a $2,500 honorarium over two years. When asked in an interview what being the poet laureate required, Koethe replied: "I was the first one, and no one was quite sure what exactly I was supposed to do. The Friends of the Library oversaw the position, so together, we just sort of made it up. I read Dr. Seuss to some kids, gave a poetry reading, read a poem to The Common Council. I also introduced four writers at Centennial Hall: two fiction writers, Martha Berglund and C.J. Hribal, and two poets Susan Firer and Lisa Samuels."

References