Maurice Kenny

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Maurice Frank Kenny (August 16, 1929 – April 16, 2016) was a Mohawk poet.

Life

Maurice Kenny was born on August 16, 1929 in Watertown, New York. His father was of Mohawk and Irish heritage,[1] from Canada, and his mother, who was born in Upstate New York, was part Seneca.[1] The family spent time living both on and off the nearby reservation.

Kenny's father was a stern man, given to rough treatment of his son, and at 16 Maurice ran away from home, living in New York City for a brief period before returning home.

During the 1960s and 1970s, Kenny lived in the United States Virgin Islands and Mexico before settling in Brooklyn, NY.

After 1984, Kenny divided his time primarily between Saranac Lake, and Potsdam. He taught at North Country Community College, Paul Smith's College, and SUNY Potsdam and retired from his teaching duties at the latter in 2011. He lived the final years of his life in Saranac Lake, where he died on April 16, 2016.[1]

Education

Kenny was educated at Butler University, St. Lawrence University and New York University, where he studied with American poet Louise Bogan.[1]

Career

Kenny was co-editor with Josh Gosciak of ''Contact/II'', a literary magazine and poetry press published between 1981 and 1993. Kenny was also the editor and publisher of Strawberry Press (most active in the 1970s and 1980s) and Many Moons Press (most active in the 2000s and 2010s). Strawberry Press published poems and artwork, often in postcard form, by Native Americans. Many Moons Press published poetry and artwork primarily from writers and artists associated with the North Country of New York State, including photographer Mark Kurtz and poets Dan Bodah and Ethan Shantie.

Kenny read his poetry throughout the United States and Europe. Notable New York City readings included the Poetry Festival at St. Clement's Church, West 46th Street, Manhattan; Waterways: Poetry in the Mainstream readings and book fairs; the American Indian Community House; Poets House; and many other venues.

Kenny held residencies at a number of colleges and universities, including St. Lawrence University (which granted him an honorary doctorate in 1995), the American Indian Community House in New York City, the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, the University of California, Berkeley, the En'owkin Center, the University of Oklahoma, and Syracuse Community Writers (funded by the New York State Council on the Arts).

Awards and honors

Nominations

Poetry

  • The Hopeless Kill, Watertown Daily Times (1956)[5]
  • Dead Letters Sent, and Other Poems, Troubadour Press (1958)[5]
  • With Love to Lesbia, Aardvark Press (1959)[5]
  • And Grieve, Lesbia, Aardvark Press (1960)[5]
  • North: Poems of Home, Blue Cloud Quarterly (1977)[5]
  • Only As Far As Brooklyn, Good Gay Poets Press (1979)[5]
  • I Am The Sun, White Pine Press (1979)[5]
  • Dancing Back Strong the Nation: Poems by Maurice Kenny, with an introduction by [Paula Gunn Allen], White Pine Press (1981)[5]
  • Kneading the Blood, Strawberry Press (1981)[5]
  • Blackrobe: Isaac Jogues, b. March 11, 1607, d. October 18, 1646: Poems, North Country Community College Press (1982)[5]
  • Boston Tea Party, Soup Press (1982)[5]
  • The Smell of Slaughter, Blue Cloud Quarterly (1982)[5]
  • Wounds Beneath the Flesh (1983)
  • The Mama Poems, White Pine Press (1st ed. 1984, 2nd ed. 2008)[6]
  • Is Summer This Bear, Chauncy Press (1985)[5]
  • Between Two Rivers: Selected Poems, 1956-1984, White Pine Press (1985)[7]
  • Greyhounding This America: Poems and Dialog by Maurice Kenny, Heidelberg Graphics (1988)[5]
  • Humors And/Or Not So Humorous, Swift Kick Press (1988)[5]
  • The Short and the Long of It, University of Arkansas Press (1990)[5]
  • Last Mornings in Brooklyn, Point Riders Press (1991)[5]
  • Tekonwatonti: Molly Brant (1735-1795): Poems of War, White Pine Press (1st ed. 1992, 2nd ed. 2008)[8]
  • On Second Thought: A Compilation, University of Oklahoma Press (1995)[5]
  • In the Time of the Present: New Poems, Michigan State University Press (2000)[5]
  • Carving Hawk: New and Selected Poems 1956-2000, White Pine Press (2005)[9]
  • Connotations, White Pine Press (2008)[5]
  • Saranac Lake Ghost Poems, Ghost City Press (2016)[10]

External links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Motyka, John (April 26, 2016). "Maurice Kenny, Who Explored His Mohawk Heritage in Poetry, Dies at 86." New York Times. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
  2. ↑ "2014 Hall of Fame." Empire State Center for the Book. Accessed 3 June 2014.
  3. ↑ List of NWCA Lifetime Achievement Awards, accessed 6 August 2010.
  4. ↑ "Previous Winners of the American Book Award." Alaska Native Knowledge Network, hosted by the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
  5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 5.19 Maurice Kenny: Celebrations of a Mohawk Writer, ed. Penelope Myrtle Kelsey (SUNY Press 2011), p. 157, "Bibliography."
  6. ↑ [1] Google Books, last accessed 3 June 2014
  7. ↑ [2] Google Books, last accessed 3 June 2014
  8. ↑ [3] Google Books, last accessed 3 June 2014
  9. ↑ "White Pines Press Catalog." White Pines Press. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
  10. ↑ [4] Ghost City Press, last accessed 17 April 2016.

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