Professor Brian Henry publishes seventh poetry collection

Brian Henry celebrated the publication of his seventh collection of poetry March 15, but this recent accomplishment is only one of many for the professor of English and creative writing, magazine editor, award-winning translator and literary critic.

After being on the shelves for only two weeks, "Lessness," published by Ashahta Press, has already been put on the Small Press Distribution's bestseller poetry book list for March 2011.

Henry said he had been surprised to hear this news so soon, and, although he had been happy, he had not felt terribly proud.

"For me, a book is not a product as much as it documents the artistic process," he said. "I hope that after 50 years of doing this, there will be a nice big collection of my progress as an artist - of my artistic life."

Suzanne Jones, English department chairwoman, said Henry had every reason to be proud. This has been a big year for Henry, she said. He was promoted to full professor, awarded the Howard Foundation grant for translation and just published his seventh collection, she said.

"Brian is quite prolific," Jones said, "and he is definitely modest. He is one of the youngest full professors to be promoted at Richmond, in part because of the books he's written and the poetry he's published, but he is also a great teacher."

Henry said his greatest challenge and goal for writing manuscripts was to make each one different.

"When I started seriously writing in my early 20s," he said, "I swore I would never repeat myself. I can't stand artists who do the same thing for 30 years. If you aren't standing outside your comfort zone, challenging yourself, you aren't creating art."

There are a few things that make "Lessness" different from his previous works, he said, including its theme: violence. Henry said his poems explored the physical and psychological manifestations of violence, and the indirect or more benign forms of it, such as neglect.

"I think violence surrounds us," Henry said. "For me, there is a direct and natural connection between writing and violence. By writing, the physical act of longhand, you are taking a blank page and marring it."

The final product is unusual in this way, he said, because it maintains residue of the editing process, including passages that have been crossed out and redacted with a Sharpie.

Henry said the book's general audience would be people interested in language.

"I've always loved words and learning new words," he said. "Studying foreign languages makes you acutely aware of language, where words come from and how they evolve. I have a very hungry ear - always listening - and the English language is also very hungry."

Andrew Zawacki, Henry's co-editor of Verse magazine, said what he had appreciated most about Henry's poetry had been the care he took with words. This gift is most evident, he said, when Henry translates texts and edits the works of his students and peers.

"Brian doesn't try to turn anybody's work into an image of his own," Zawacki said. "He doesn't want to impose categories or ideas on the book. He wants to get inside the book, learn its language and help it do its job."

Henry received the Howard Foundation fellowship grant of $27,000 at the beginning of the month for the translation of "The Smugglers" by Slovenian poet Ale\0x0161 Debeljak.

According to its website, The Howard Foundation awards a limited number of fellowships each year for independent projects in selected fields. Only 13 fellowships were awarded for the 2011-2012 year.

Henry will be taking a sabbatical next spring, during which, he said, he plans to finish various projects and translations, including a book on the theory and practice of translation, three poetry books and a novella that is quickly turning into a novel.

Contact staff writer Kaylin Politzer at kaylin.politzer@richmond.edu