John Ashbery
John Ashbery died on September 3, 2017, at age 90.
The poet, recognized by the Pulitzer Board in 1976 for "Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror" also was a finalist for the 1993 Poetry prize.
Read the jury report in support of Ashbery's 1976 Pulitzer Prize here.
In The New Yorker, fellow Poetry prize winner Paul Muldoon wrote:
Ashbery himself was the first to be amazed at how a figure who so resolutely argued against convention, the quintessential outsider, came to occupy a central position in American poetry. It seems that he almost singlehandedly not only changed the rules of the game but also remapped the field on which the game was played.
Read the full text of Muldoon's piece here.
In celebration of Ashbery's 90th birthday in July, LitHub posted 90 lines of his poetry chosen by friends, collaborators and admirers — including Rae Armantrout and Charles Simic. The piece has been reposted here in remembrance.
In addition to the Pulitzer, Ashbery was awarded nearly every major literary prize, including the National Arts and Humanities Medal. He published more than 20 volumes of poetry during his lifetime and held tenured professorships at Brooklyn College (where he was succeeded by 1995 Poetry finalist Allen Ginsberg) and Bard College.