Emeritus professor Dana named Iowa's Poet Laureate

MOUNT VERNON — Robert Dana, Cornell professor of English and poet-in-residence emeritus, has been selected Iowa’s new Poet Laureate.

During his two-year appointment he will serve as the state’s symbolic leader of poetry, reading poems at official Iowa public events at the invitation of the governor and developing a signature project to advance public appreciation for poetry.

Dana is scheduled to do a book signing during Cornell’s homecoming, on Saturday, Oct. 9, from 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the bookstore in The Commons. Also on hand will be Cornell authors Charles Milhauser and Richard Thomas. Following the book signing, the English department will host a reception for Dana from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in South Hall.

Dana taught at Cornell from 1954-94. He received $20,000 National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowships in 1985 and 1993; the Delmore Schwartz Memorial Award for Poetry in 1989, given by New York University to honor a promising young poet or a gifted poet whose work has been largely unrecognized; and the Rainer Maria Rilke Prize for Poetry. His book, “Starting Out for the Difficult World,” was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in 1988. He has written 13 books of poetry, the most recent, “The Morning of the Red Admirals,” published this year.

A Massachusetts native, Dana discovered his love for writing poetry during quiet stretches as a U.S. Navy radio operator during World War II. Back in Boston, he sold his watch and raincoat for one-way bus fare to Des Moines, where he became the first in his family to attend college. He enrolled at Drake University on the GI Bill and supported himself as a sportswriter for the Des Moines Register. Later, he honed his art at the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, graduating with a master’s degree in 1954. When he joined Cornell, he was the youngest (age 25) tenure-track professor hired by the college at the time. He has served as distinguished guest at five American universities and Stockholm University.