Lakeland Mirror

Issue date: 4/3/08 Section: News

Media Credit: prariehome.publicradio.org David Lehman will speak at this years commencement ceromony.

David Lehman will be the commencement speaker for Lakeland College this year. Lehman is an accomplished poet and writer who has also edited many a book as well as served on academic boards.

Lehman was born in New York City in 1948. After high school he graduated from Columbia University with a Ph.D. in English.

Afterwards he traveled to England to
attend Cambridge University as a Kellett Fellow. Since then he has written multiple poems about a variety of topics from love to the idea that there are no new ideas in life.

Lehman has also produced critical writings such as "The Last Avant-Garde: The Making of the New York School of Poets" which was named by the New York Public Library a "Book to Remember 1999." He has also delved into the world of mystery novels with "The Perfect Murder," a book nominated for an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America.

In addition to writing books and works of poetry, he also edited books. A few of these books include "Essays in Criticism," "The Oxford Book of American Poetry," and Ecstatic Occasions."

He has also gained praise from fellow poets such as John Hollander, as well as receiving several awards, including an award in literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Writer's Award. In addition to these awards he has also received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Ingram Merrill Foundation.

Currently Lehman is series editor of "The Best American Poetry" which was started by him in 1988 and is the general editor of the University of Michigan Press

"Poets on Poetry" Series. He also lives in New York City and is a part of the core faculty of the New York University's graduate writing programs, where he currently lives.

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