Liam Rector

Liam Rector (1949 – August 15 2007) was an American poet, essayist and educator. He had administered literary programs at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP), the National Endowment for the Arts, the Academy of American Poets, and the Folger Shakespeare Library. He was also the director, most recently, of the graduate Writing Seminars at Bennington College.

Life and work

Rector, born in Washington, D.C, was the author of volumes of poetry including "The Executive Director of the Fallen World" (University of Chicago, 2006), "American Prodigal" (Story Line, 1994), and "The Sorrow of Architecture" (Dragon Gate, 1984).

He co-edited with Tree Swenson "On the Poetry of Frank Bidart: Fastening the Voice to the Page" (University of Michigan, 2007), and edited "The Day I Was Older: On the Poetry of Donald Hall" (Story Line, 1989).

Rector founded and directed the graduate writing seminars at Bennington College in Vermont and taught at Columbia University, The New School, and Emerson College.

Rector committed suicide in his Greenwich Village apartment on August 15 2007. [ [http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Entertainment/2007/08/16/liam_rector_poet_and_teacher_kills_self/9786/Liam Rector, poet and teacher, kills self] obituary from UPI on-line]

The Liam Rector First Book Prize for Poetry is awarded annually by Briery Creek Press to honor the best emerging poets with their first full-length poetry publication.

References

External links

* [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/17/arts/17rector.html Liam Rector, 57, a Poet and Educator, Dies] obituary published in the "New York Times"
* [http://www.aprweb.org/issues/sept05/rector.html from "An interview by Sarah Kanning"] this link includes Rector poems "About the Money" and "In My Memory Eddie" published in the "American Poetry Review" (Sept/Oct 2005)
* [http://www.aprweb.org/issues/jan02/rector.html excerpt from "The Culture Wars in a Time of War"] published in the "American Poetry Review" (Jan/Feb 2000)
* [http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/379 Exhibit at The Academy of American Poets] includes links to on-line poems and audio readings
* [http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Entertainment/2007/08/16/liam_rector_poet_and_teacher_kills_self/9786/Liam Rector, poet and teacher, kills self] obituary from UPI on-line
* [http://www.nypost.com/seven/08162007/news/regionalnews/top_n_y__poet_kills_self_regionalnews_peter_cox_____and_andy_geller.htm Top N.Y. Poet Kills Self] obituary from NY Post on-line
* [http://poetrynet.org/month/archive/rector/intro.html "autobiographical note"] A piece Rector wrote for the Web site PoetryNet when he was their Poet of the Month for September 2004
* [http://members.aol.com/poetrynet/month/archive/rector/parents.html "When the Parents Went"] and [http://members.aol.com/poetrynet/month/archive/rector/parents.html "Back to Country with Pulitzer] links to two Rector poems at PoetryNet when Rector was Poet of the Month (SEPT 2004)
* [http://www.inertiamagazine.com/i3/rector.html "Four Poems"] From "Inertia" Issue Three (AUG 2006)