Robert Gibb (poet)
Encyclopedia
Robert Gibb is an American
poet
. Gibb won the 1997 National Poetry Series
Open Competition for The Origins of Evening. It, along with his next two books, comprise what Gibb calls The Homestead Trilogy, a nearly 100-poem cycle probing the fading industrial history and culture of America's Steel City.
, Pennsylvania
, a mill town
six miles south of downtown Pittsburgh
along the Monongahela River
. The town was home to Andrew Carnegie
's famous Homestead Steel Works
and site of the infamous Homestead Strike
.
Gibb earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts
at Kutztown University in 1971, a Master of Fine Arts
at the University of Massachusetts Amherst
in 1974, and his Master of Arts
and Ph.D.
at Lehigh University
in 1976 and 1986 respectively.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
poet
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...
. Gibb won the 1997 National Poetry Series
National Poetry Series
The National Poetry Series is an American literary awards program.Every year since 1979 it has sponsored the publication of five books of poetry...
Open Competition for The Origins of Evening. It, along with his next two books, comprise what Gibb calls The Homestead Trilogy, a nearly 100-poem cycle probing the fading industrial history and culture of America's Steel City.
Life
He was born to a family of steelworkers in HomesteadHomestead, Pennsylvania
Homestead is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA, in the "Mon Valley," southeast of downtown Pittsburgh and directly across the river from the city limit line. The borough is known for the Homestead Strike of 1892, an important event in the history of labor relations in the United...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, a mill town
Mill town
A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories .- United Kingdom:...
six miles south of downtown Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
along the Monongahela River
Monongahela River
The Monongahela River is a river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States...
. The town was home to Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
's famous Homestead Steel Works
Homestead Steel Works
Homestead Steel Works was a large steel works located on the Monongahela River at Homestead, Pennsylvania in the United States. It developed in the nineteenth century as an extensive plant served by tributary coal and iron fields, a railway long, and a line of lake steamships...
and site of the infamous Homestead Strike
Homestead Strike
The Homestead Strike was an industrial lockout and strike which began on June 30, 1892, culminating in a battle between strikers and private security agents on July 6, 1892. It was one of the most serious disputes in U.S. labor history...
.
Gibb earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts
Bachelor of Fine Arts
In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...
at Kutztown University in 1971, a Master of Fine Arts
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
at the University of Massachusetts Amherst
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is a public research and land-grant university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States and the flagship of the University of Massachusetts system...
in 1974, and his Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
and Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
at Lehigh University
Lehigh University
Lehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines...
in 1976 and 1986 respectively.
Works
- The Origins of Evening, poetry (New York: W. W. Norton, 1998)
- Momentary Days, poetry (Camden: Walt Whitman Center, 1989)
- Entering Time, Barnwood Press, poetry (Daleville: Barnwood Press, 1986)
- The Winter House, poetry (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1984)
- The Names of the Earth in Summer, poetry (Menemsha: Stone Country, 1983)
- The Margins, poetry (Menemsha: White Bear Books, 1979)
Reviews
Move over, John Edgar WidemanJohn Edgar WidemanJohn Edgar Wideman is an American writer, professor at Brown University, and sits on the contributing editorial board of the literary journal Conjunctions.-Early life:...
. Poet Robert Gibb's "The Homestead Trilogy," now completed, takes its place alongside "The Homewood Trilogy" in the canon of Pittsburgh literature. World Over Water concludes a fiercely ambitious cycle of Pittsburgh poems -- nearly 100 in all -- in the project Gibb began 10 years ago with "The Origins Of Evening," selected by Eavan Boland as winner of the 1997 National Poetry Series and published by Norton.
External links
- Contemporary Authors Online. The Gale Group, 2002. PEN (Permanent Entry Number): 0000128494.
- Peter OresickPeter OresickPeter Oresick is an American poet and Associate Professor of English at Chatham University, where he directs the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program...
(2007). Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Review of World Over Water and "The Homestead Trilogy". Retrieved April 1, 2007.