5 Poems by A. R. Ammons

A. R. Ammons 1926-2001

I Never dreamed of being a poet. I think I always wanted to be an amateur poet.-A.R. Ammons (1)

Archie Randolph Ammons grew up on a farm near Whiteville, North Carolina during the Depression. Born February 28, 1926, he was the youngest of three Children. He earned a biology degree at Wake Forest College in North Carolina, and attended graduate school at The University of California at Berkley. While serving in the Navy during WWII, Ammons started writing poetry. He worked briefly as an elementary school principal, and real estate agent before he had a position as a salesman at a New Jersey glass factory for nearly a decade. In 1964 he began teaching at Cornell University. In the Temple Of Zeus, a campus coffee shop, he met other poets for weekly discussions. He continued to frequent the coffee shop after his retirement in 1998.

At his own expense, Ammons published his first book of poetry in 1955. He published more than twenty books of poetry, and was honored with the Wallace Stevens Award, and the Ruth Lilly Prize among others. He also received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

A. R. Ammons died of cancer on February 25, 2001 at the age of 75.

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Text of poems can be found here:
Gravelly Run
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=17695

Bees Stopped
http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=101079795

Poetics
http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=101079830

The Account
I Can't find this poem on-line. It is from The Selected Poems 1951-1977, W. W. Norton & Co, New York, 1977

Swells
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=182927

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Notes
(1) Poetry Foundation:
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=142

Webliography
Poets.org:
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/48

New York Times Obituary 2/27/01:
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/27/arts/a-r-ammons-75-poet-of-eclectic-tastes....

Poetry Foundation:
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=142

Modern American Poetry:
http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/ammons/life.htm

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[andrewnorris1]

Another great reading and addition to your growing library. I had never heard of this chap but I like his view of nature and the details of it.

[PoemsBeingRead]

@andrewnorris1 I appreciate your following my readings Andrew. I also like Ammons' persepective as expressed in his nature poems. Check out his other work. My selction is but a tiny sample. I chose the poems I read from his "Selected Woks 1951-1977."

[HerAeolianHarp]

Glad to see this, James. I love his poem "Easter Morning"--pretty tragic for a more detached poet, but beautiful. Thanks for this video. I watch the new ones as I can when they are uploaded, but tonight this poet was on my mind.