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Bob Hicok was born in 1960 in Grand Ledge, Michigan. His first book of poems, The Legend of Light, was published in 1995 by the University of Wisconsin Press, and he earned his master of fine arts degree from the Vermont College of Fine Arts in 2004. His work has earned him a number of accolades, including two NEA Fellowships, a Guggenheim Fellowship, eight Pushcart Prizes, and the Library of Congress Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt Prize. He has published eleven previous books of poetry, most recently Elegy Owed, Sex & Love &, Hold, and Red Rover Red Rover all from Copper Canyon Press. His writing has appeared in journals and magazines such as The New Yorker, Poetry Magazine,andThe American Poetry Review, and has been anthologized in nine volumes of The Best American Poetry. He is currently an English professor at Virginia Tech University.
Even in a bad year, Hicok seems to have the medication to treat it, approaching all of the challenges that face us with the gentle humor for which he has long been known...There's hope here, and sadness here, and fear here, and anger here, and charm here, in just the right proportion of potion to let the reader know that this work is right here, with all of us, that the author is right here, with all of us, that we can almost believe him, and that we can still be thankful for this medication, for our many reasons to live, and for our many ways to do so. --New York Journal of Books Bob Hicok's poetry is a fleeting comfort, a temporary solace from the chaos of the world. Smart, honest, powerfully inventive, his writing asks the biggest questions while acknowledging that there are no answers beyond the imposed structure of the page. --Los Angeles Times Mixing cleverness with tenderness, Hicok demonstrates how to be a beacon of light in the darkest of settings. --Publishers Weekly [T]he most potent ingredient in virtually every one of Bob Hicok's compact, well-turned poems is a laughter as old as humanity itself, a sweet waggery that suggests there's almost no problem that can't be solved by this poet's gentle humor. New York Times Book Review [Hicok's] humor, punning, wit, wisdom, and humility lead to small revelations, introspections, and musings on the human condition--all in the face of danger and atrocity. . . . In a unique blend of punchline and sincerity, Hicok confesses, 'I'm scared, but not shitless.' --Arkansas International Hicok gives readers unexpected conjunctions and oddly offbeat thoughts, most darkly whimsical, and has us embrace them wholeheartedly. If he can survive the scary carnival that is this world, we can, too. --Library Journal, starred review
