Robert Bly papers

Robert Elwood Bly was born on December 23, 1926 in Madison, Minnesota, to Jacob Thomas and Alice Myrtle (Aws) Bly. Growing up on his parents' farm, he raised livestock and showed them at 4-H gatherings. He graduated from Madison High School in 1944, and enlisted in the United States Navy the same year. He was honorably discharged in 1946, and enrolled at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. After completing one year at St. Olaf, he transferred to Harvard University in 1947. Graduating Magna Cum Laude, he was named Class Poet for the Harvard Class of 1950. While at Harvard, Bly met many poets, including Donald Hall. Their friendship grew and endured throughout their lifetime.

To launch his writing career, Bly sought a solitary period in northern Minnesota and New York City for some time. In 1954, he enrolled at the State University of Iowa; married Carolyn McLean in 1955 in Duluth, Minnesota; and received a Master's degree from Iowa in 1956.

After leaving Iowa, Bly was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study poetry in Oslo, Norway. It was there that he was exposed to poetry by international writers for the first time. In 1958, he collaborated with William Duffy to publish The Fiftiesmagazine whose primary goal was to shed the formality of poetry they found prevalent in contemporary writing. Another goal of the magazine was to introduce international poets to American audiences. Bly and Duffy were generous in publishing many works of young, struggling poets from around the world, including their own poetry. The Fiftiescontinued to be published as The Sixtiesand The Seventies.

During the 1960s and early 1970s, the Bly family grew from two to six. Bly's first book of poetry, Silence in the Snowy Fields, was published in 1962. In 1966, Bly co-founded the American Writers Against the Vietnam Warwith poet, David Ray. Among other things, this organization existed to conduct poetry "read-ins" across the country on college and university campuses, and other venues, protesting the U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Throughout this period, Bly protested, attended draft card burnings, was arrested, and wrote anti-war poetry in an effort to stop the massacre of innocent lives.

Robert Bly's National Book Award winning book of poetry, The Light Around the Body, was published in 1967. As part of his acceptance speech at the award ceremony in 1968, he called upon others to protest the war, and presented his award funds to resistors of the draft. In 1979, Robert and Carol Bly divorced. Bly married Ruth Ray in 1980.

Throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, Bly continued to write his own poetry and publish the works of other poets, including international poets. His translating expertise grew as he collaborated with poets and translators around the world.

In 1975, Bly organized the first annual Great Mother Conference. In the course of the ten day event, poetry, music, and dance were utilized to examine human consciousness. These conferences evolved into the Great Mother and New Father Conferences, adding storytelling, fairy tales, mythology, and other creative expressions to the many workshop offerings.

In May 1982, Bly collaborated with Keith Thompson to publish a groundbreaking article, "What Men Really Want" in New Agemagazine. The unprecedented international response from that article developed into Bly's work with the Mythopoetic Men's Movement. Men's groups were organized, whereby men shared poetry readings, storytelling, drumming, rituals, and more. The group retreats and day events enabled men to explore new ways of relating to each other, to their fathers, and to women. Bly continued his work with this movement through 2010. The concepts in the 1982 New Agearticle were expanded and eventually published by Bly in 1990 in the form of the New York Timesbest-selling prose work, Iron John: A book about men.

From a very early age, Bly had aspirations of performing in front of groups. That desire was realized again and again by his public appearances around the world. The notoriety of Bly's stature as award-winning poet, translator, and publisher created a demand for his unique style of reading of both his own and others' poetry. Always generous in sharing the stage, many of Bly's performances incorporated musical and other accompaniment, and left audiences forever transformed.

Bly continued to write and translate into the 21st century, including translating Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gyntinto English. In 2008, it was produced and performed at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. Robert Bly was named the first poet laureate for Minnesota in 2008. Robert Bly has written original poetry, prose, and plays; translated poetry and prose of other writers; and published and edited numerous works. The "Blyography" is vast, and has not been gathered comprehensively. For listings of his works, see Robert Bly's website, Robert Bly's wikipedia entry, and LitCheck: The Center for Literary Biography Online's entry for Robert Blyat the University of South Carolina. In addition, for more biographical information on Robert Bly, researchers may consult a fee-based database, Contemporary Authors, available at university and public libraries.