Bruce Weigl
Encyclopedia
Bruce Weigl is an American contemporary poet
who teaches at Lorain County Community College
. Weigl enlisted in the United States Army
shortly after his 18th birthday and spent three years in the service. He served in the Vietnam War
from December 1967 to December 1968 and received the Bronze Star
. When he returned to the United States, Weigl obtained a bachelor's degree from Oberlin College
, and a Master of Arts Degree in Writing/American and British Literature from the University of New Hampshire
. From 1975-76, Weigl was an instructor at Lorain County Community College in Elyria, Ohio.
Weigl's first full-length collection of poems, A Romance, was published in 1979. After he received a Ph.D. from the University of Utah
in 1979, he was an assistant professor of English at the University of Arkansas
and later held the same position at Old Dominion University
. Weigl additionally served as the president of the Associated Writing Programs
.
During the 1980s, Weigl published two more poetry collections, The Monkey Wars and Song of Napalm. In 1986, Weigl became an associate professor of English at Pennsylvania State University
and was later promoted to a professor of English. In 1999, he published two more poetry collections, Archeology of the Circle: New and Selected Poems and After the Others. He left Penn State in 2000 and took a position at Lorain County Community College as a distinguished professor.
He also published a memoir that year titled The Circle of Hanh: A Memoir. Many of Weigl's poems are inspired by the time he spent in the U.S. Army and Vietnam. In The Circle of Hanh, Weigl writes, "The war took away my life and gave me poetry in return...the fate the world has given me is to struggle to write powerfully enough to draw others into the horror."
In addition to writing his own poetry, Weigl worked with Thanh T. Nguyen of the Joiner Research Center to translate poems of North Vietnamese and Viet Cong soldiers captured during war. Weigl and Nguten accepted an invitation from the Vietnamese Writers Association and traveled to Hanoi to receive assistance in translating the poems. His poems are featured in American Alphabets: 25 Contemporary Poets (2006) and many other anthologies.
s, a Patterson Poetry Prize, and a Yaddo Foundation Fellowship. Weigl was awarded the Bread Loaf
Fellowship in Poetry in 1981 and was awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
in 1988 for Arts and Creative Writing. He was also nominated for the Pulitzer Prize
in 1988 for Song of Napalm, and in 2006 he was won the Lannan Literary Award in Poetry. He was 2003 Poetry Panel Chair for the National Book Award.
Translation
Prose
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
who teaches at Lorain County Community College
Lorain County Community College
Lorain County Community College is a community college located in the city of Elyria in Lorain County, Ohio, which is part of the Northeast Ohio region. It was visited by Barack Obama, the President of the United States, in January 2010....
. Weigl enlisted in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
shortly after his 18th birthday and spent three years in the service. He served in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
from December 1967 to December 1968 and received the Bronze Star
Bronze Star Medal
The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
. When he returned to the United States, Weigl obtained a bachelor's degree from Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
, and a Master of Arts Degree in Writing/American and British Literature from the University of New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire is a public university in the University System of New Hampshire , United States. The main campus is in Durham, New Hampshire. An additional campus is located in Manchester. With over 15,000 students, UNH is the largest university in New Hampshire. The university is...
. From 1975-76, Weigl was an instructor at Lorain County Community College in Elyria, Ohio.
Weigl's first full-length collection of poems, A Romance, was published in 1979. After he received a Ph.D. from the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
in 1979, he was an assistant professor of English at the University of Arkansas
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...
and later held the same position at Old Dominion University
Old Dominion University
Old Dominion University is a state university located in Norfolk, Virginia, United States, and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools...
. Weigl additionally served as the president of the Associated Writing Programs
Association of Writers & Writing Programs
The Association of Writers & Writing Programs is a literary organization whose mission is "to foster literary talent and achievement, to advance the art of writing as essential to a good education, and to serve the makers, teachers, students, and readers of contemporary writing."-Members:AWP...
.
During the 1980s, Weigl published two more poetry collections, The Monkey Wars and Song of Napalm. In 1986, Weigl became an associate professor of English at Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
and was later promoted to a professor of English. In 1999, he published two more poetry collections, Archeology of the Circle: New and Selected Poems and After the Others. He left Penn State in 2000 and took a position at Lorain County Community College as a distinguished professor.
He also published a memoir that year titled The Circle of Hanh: A Memoir. Many of Weigl's poems are inspired by the time he spent in the U.S. Army and Vietnam. In The Circle of Hanh, Weigl writes, "The war took away my life and gave me poetry in return...the fate the world has given me is to struggle to write powerfully enough to draw others into the horror."
In addition to writing his own poetry, Weigl worked with Thanh T. Nguyen of the Joiner Research Center to translate poems of North Vietnamese and Viet Cong soldiers captured during war. Weigl and Nguten accepted an invitation from the Vietnamese Writers Association and traveled to Hanoi to receive assistance in translating the poems. His poems are featured in American Alphabets: 25 Contemporary Poets (2006) and many other anthologies.
Awards
Weigl's first award was a prize from the American Academy of Poets in 1979. He received two Pushcart PrizePushcart Prize
The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are invited to nominate up to 6 works they have featured....
s, a Patterson Poetry Prize, and a Yaddo Foundation Fellowship. Weigl was awarded the Bread Loaf
Bread Loaf Writers' Conference
The Bread Loaf Writers' Conference is a writers' conference held every summer at the Bread Loaf Inn, near Bread Loaf Mountain, east of Middlebury, Vermont...
Fellowship in Poetry in 1981 and was awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
in 1988 for Arts and Creative Writing. He was also nominated for the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
in 1988 for Song of Napalm, and in 2006 he was won the Lannan Literary Award in Poetry. He was 2003 Poetry Panel Chair for the National Book Award.
Bruce Weigl and his Vietnamese adopted daughter
Bruce Weigl has a Vietnamese adopted daughter named Hạnh Nguyễn Weigl, whom he received from an orphanage in 1996. At that time he told the orphanage that: "Today I receive from you a Vietnamese child. I promised that in the future I will return a Vietnamese lady to you. I will never change her in to an American". Indeed, Weigl's family have been trying their best to preserve the Vietnamese elements in Hạnh Nguyễn. For example they usually encourage her to speak Vietnamese, eat Vietnamese food, and have arranged many meetings between Hạnh Nguyễn and Weigl's Vietnamese friends. Weigl's effort was highly appreciated by Vietnamese media.Published works
Poetry- Like a Sack Full of Old Quarrels. Cleveland: Cleveland State University Poetry Series, 1976.
- A Romance. Pittsburgh: U of Pittsburgh P, 1979.
- The Monkey Wars. Athens: U of Georgia P, 1984.
- Song of Napalm. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1988.
- Not on the Map. Chester Springs, PA: Dufour, 1996.
- After the Others. Evanston, IL: Triquarterly Books/Northwestern UP, 1999.
Translation
Prose
Reviews
One has to go back to the poetry of James Wright to find a writer who has used the fallen industrial landscape of the Midwest as effectively as Bruce Weigl, or to that of Frost for one who has used narrative so prominently. These are lofty comparisons, but The Monkey Wars is equal to them. When Weigl's dramas are not revealing a mythical and violent Midwest, they unveil a disruptive, wargutted Vietnamese landscape in a way I can recall no other writer doing.
External references
- "Bruce Weigl." The Gale Literary Database: Contemporary Authors. The Gale Group. 13 July 2001. Thomson Corporation. 2002. 14 May 2002. http://www.galenet.com.
- "Bruce Weigl." Lorain Public Library System. 14 May 2002. http://www.lorain.lib.oh.us/localauthors/weigl_biography.html.
- Weigl, Bruce. The Circle of Hanh. New York: Grove Press, 2000.
- Criswell, Mandy. "Weigl, Bruce." 29 May 2007. http://www.pabook.libraries.psu.edu/LitMap/bios/Weigl__Bruce.html.
- A 2008 interview between Bruce Weigl, Dave Jarecki, DaveJarecki.com
- Brian Turner and Bruce Weigl and Michael Silverblatt, Lannan Readings & Conversations, March 5 2008
- "On Bruce Weigl: Finding a Shape for the Litany of Terror", David Keplinger, War Literature and the Arts Journal, Fall/Winter 2000