Dana Gioia
Nothing is Ever Thrown Away: The Dana Gioia Poetry Project
By: Jonathan Chiang
By: Jonathan Chiang
Chiang 1
Chiang 1
“Infinity is Open to Your Sight”: A Brief Biography of Dana Gioia
“Dana Gioia is a prominent advocate for the restoration of meter, rhyme, and traditional formal structures to American poetry” (Muratori). He is considered to be one of the best known poets affiliated with the New Formalism movement. This movement emphasized traditional poetic techniques as well as narrative and non-autobiographical subject matter. Gioia is an essayist, critic, translator, cultural commentator, and a librettist. It was his poetry and prose that he first began to gain national attention and fame in the early 1980s, frequently appearing in journals and magazines like The Hudson Review, Poetry, and The New Yorker. Gioia also wrote a number of essays and book reviews around the same time. He has received numerous awards including 10 honorary doctorates, the 2002 American Book Award, and the 2010 Laetare Medal from Notre Dame. Dana Gioia was born on December 24, 1950 in Hawthorne, California, the son of Michael Gioia and Dorothy Ortez. His other brother, Ted Gioia, is a jazz musician. He grew up in Hawthorne speaking Italian in a Mexican neighborhood. He attended Junipero Serra High School in Gardena, California. Because of his multicultural background, he picked up languages easily. He spent his college years in Vienna, Austria, where he became fluent in German. (Dana Gioia, Newsmakers). After Dana obtained his B.A., M.A., and M.B.A., he joined the General Foods Corporation from 1977-1972 where he rose to the rank of vice president. “He was on the team that invented Jell-O jigglers. He is also credited with reversing a long-running sales decline for Jello” (Dana Gioia, Wikipedia). He resigned in 1992 to become a full time writer. After General Food, Gioia served as vice president of the Poetry Society of America from 1992-1997. He has published four full
By: Jonathan Chiang
By: Jonathan Chiang
Chiang 1
Chiang 1
“Infinity is Open to Your Sight”: A Brief Biography of Dana Gioia
“Dana Gioia is a prominent advocate for the restoration of meter, rhyme, and traditional formal structures to American poetry” (Muratori). He is considered to be one of the best known poets affiliated with the New Formalism movement. This movement emphasized traditional poetic techniques as well as narrative and non-autobiographical subject matter. Gioia is an essayist, critic, translator, cultural commentator, and a librettist. It was his poetry and prose that he first began to gain national attention and fame in the early 1980s, frequently appearing in journals and magazines like The Hudson Review, Poetry, and The New Yorker. Gioia also wrote a number of essays and book reviews around the same time. He has received numerous awards including 10 honorary doctorates, the 2002 American Book Award, and the 2010 Laetare Medal from Notre Dame. Dana Gioia was born on December 24, 1950 in Hawthorne, California, the son of Michael Gioia and Dorothy Ortez. His other brother, Ted Gioia, is a jazz musician. He grew up in Hawthorne speaking Italian in a Mexican neighborhood. He attended Junipero Serra High School in Gardena, California. Because of his multicultural background, he picked up languages easily. He spent his college years in Vienna, Austria, where he became fluent in German. (Dana Gioia, Newsmakers). After Dana obtained his B.A., M.A., and M.B.A., he joined the General Foods Corporation from 1977-1972 where he rose to the rank of vice president. “He was on the team that invented Jell-O jigglers. He is also credited with reversing a long-running sales decline for Jello” (Dana Gioia, Wikipedia). He resigned in 1992 to become a full time writer. After General Food, Gioia served as vice president of the Poetry Society of America from 1992-1997. He has published four full
Cited: Gioia, Dana. “Do I remember particular performances? Absolutely!” A Poetry Out Loud Interview with Dana Gioia. By Poetry Daily. Poems.com. Web. 28 January. 2013. Transcript “Dana Gioia.” Newsmakers Muratori, Fred. "Gioia, Dana." The Facts on File Companion to American Poetry, vol. 2. New York: Facts On File, 2007: n. pag. Bloom’s Literary Reference Online. Web. 15 Feb. 2013