- Born: 1929
- Birthplace: Watertown, NY
Poet Maurice Kenny was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for his Blackrobe: Isaac Jogues, b. March 11, 1607, d. October 18, 1646: Poems in 1982. He won the American Book Award for his book, The Mama Poems in 1984. Kenny has had his work published in nearly 100 journals including Trends, the Scottish Journal from Paisley College, the Calaloo special issue on Native American writing, World Literature Today, American Indian Quarterly, Blue Cloud Quarterly, Wicazo Sa Review, Saturday Review, and the New York Times.
Educated at Butler University, St. Lawrence University and New York University, Kenny studied with the eminent American poet, Louise Bogan. He has been the co-editor of the literary review magazine Contact/II as well as the editor/publisher of Strawberry Press. He has also been poetry editor of Adirondac Magazine, Poet-in-Residence at North Country Community College, near his home in Saranac Lake, NY and Visiting Professor at the University of Oklahoma at Norman, OK, the En'owkin Center at the University of Victoria, in British Columbia and at Paul Smith's College.
Kenny has also participated in radio, TV and film productions including Dug-Out (1990), Reno Hill... Little Big Horn, Handing the Baton, and Poems, Poets and the Song, which was made with Charles Osgood on CBS TV.
Among the panels on which Kenny has served are the New York Foundation for the Arts, the North Carolina Arts Council, the New York State Council on the Arts and the Arts Recognition and Talent Search for the Educational Testing Service. He has served on the Board of Directors for the Coordinating Council of Literary Magazines, the New York Foundation for the Arts and WSLU-FM. He has coordinated the Iroquois Arts Festival at Saranac Lake and Writer's Week at Tupper Lake, among other events. He has been Director of The Little Gallery and is currently art director of the Blue Moon Cafe, both in Saranac Lake.
Most Famous Works
- Blackrobe: Isaac Jogues, b. March 11, 1607, d. October 18, 1646: Poems (1982)
