Jay Hopler (November 23, 1970 – June 15, 2022)^[1] was an American poet.

Early life and education

Hopler was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He graduated from Purdue University (Ph.D., American Studies), the Iowa Writers’ Workshop (M.F.A., Creative Writing/Poetry), the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars (M.A., Creative Writing/Poetry) and New York University (B.A., English and American Literature).

Career

His poetry, essays, and translations have appeared in numerous magazines and journals, including American Poetry Review, The Kenyon Review, Mid-American Review, The New Republic and The New Yorker.

Hopler was Professor of English (Creative Writing/Poetry) at the University of South Florida.^[2]

Personal life

Hopler was married to poet and Renaissance scholar Kimberly Johnson.^[2][3]

Death

On 15 June 2022, Hopler died in Salt Lake City, Utah, after a battle with prostate cancer.^[4]

Awards

• 2005 Yale Series of Younger Poets Award, for Green Squall, chosen by Louise Glück^[5]
• 2006 ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Award for Green Squall
• 2006 Florida Book Award for Green Squall
• 2007 Great Lakes Colleges Association New Writers Award, for Green Squall
• 2007 National “Best Books” Award from USA Book News for Green Squall
• 2009 Lannan Foundation Fellowship
• 2009 Whiting Award^[6]
• 2010/2011 Rome Prize in Literature from the American Academy of Arts & Letters/The American Academy in Rome^[7][8]
• 2014 National “Best Books” Award from USA Book News for Before the Door of God: An Anthology of Devotional Poetry^[9]
• 2016 Florida Book Award in Poetry (Gold Medal) for The Abridged History of Rainfall
• 2016 Finalist, National Book Award for Poetry for The Abridged History of Rainfall^[10]
• 2023 Finalist, Pulitzer Prize for "Still Life"

Works

• Still Life. McSweeney's. 2022. ISBN 978-1952119378.
• The Abridged History of Rainfall. McSweeney's Poetry Series. 2016. ISBN 978-1944211264.
• Green Squall. Yale University Press. 2006. ISBN 978-0-300-11454-6.

Anthologies

• Jay Hopler; Kimberly Johnson, eds. (2013). Before the Door of God: An Anthology of Devotional Poetry. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300175202.
• Jay Hopler, ed. (1996). The Killing Spirit: An Anthology of Murder for Hire. Overlook Press. ISBN 978-0-87951-661-1. ( Canongate Books 1996)