Henry S. Taylor

Henry Splawn Taylor (June 21, 1942 – October 13, 2024) was an American poet, academic, and translator. The author of more than 15 books of poems, translation, and nonfiction, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1986.

Early life and education

Taylor was born in Lincoln, Virginia, in rural Loudoun County, where he was raised as a Quaker. He went to high school at George School in Newtown, Pennsylvania. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia in 1965 and a Master of Arts from Hollins University in 1966.

Career

Taylor taught literature and co-directed the Master of Fine Arts program in creative writing at American University from 1971 to 2003.

Taylor won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1986 for his book The Flying Change. His additional honors include two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, two awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Aiken Taylor Award for Modern American Poetry.

Personal life

Taylor met his first wife, Frances Carney Taylor, when they both attended Hollins University, and they married in 1968. They lived briefly in Salt Lake City before returning to Northern Virginia with their two sons, settling in Lincoln, Virginia in 1977. The couple divorced in 1996.

From 2015, Taylor and his second wife, fiber artist Mooshe Taylor, lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico.