17 Facts About Maurice Kenny

Maurice Frank Kenny was an American poet who identified as Mohawk descent.

Maurice Frank Kenny was born on August 16,1929, in Watertown, New York.

Maurice Kenny identified his father as being of Mohawk and Irish ancestry, from Canada and his mother, who was born in Upstate New York, as being of English and Seneca ancestry.

Maurice Kenny's mother moved to Bayonne, New Jersey and his father remained in Watertown, with young Maurice remaining predominantly in his father's custody for most of his adolescence.

Maurice Kenny briefly stayed with friends of his mother's in Syracuse, New York before running away, after which he moved to his mother's residence in Bayonne when he was sixteen.

Rather than attending school there, Maurice Kenny skipped classes regularly, preferring to go into Manhattan and seek autographs from stars of film and theatre outside hotels.

Maurice Kenny spent four years studying at Butler University under such esteemed instructors as Werner Beyer and Roy Marz, graduating in 1956 with a degree in English.

Maurice Kenny returned to Watertown briefly after graduating, taking classes with Douglas Angus at nearby St Lawrence University in Canton, New York.

Maurice Kenny left again for Manhattan in 1957, intending to enroll at Columbia University, but instead became the manager of a branch of Marboro Books, a position that put him in contact with all manner of literary, cinematic, and theatrical figures.

Maurice Kenny began taking courses at New York University, where he met poet and critic Louise Bogan, the greatest influence on his early development as a writer.

Maurice Kenny was prevented from being at Wounded Knee in 1973 because of health issues, but wrote a poem entitled "I Am the Sun" that adapted a traditional Lakota chant into a statement of solidarity with the protesters and activists.

Maurice Kenny taught at North Country Community College, Paul Smith's College, and SUNY Potsdam and retired from his teaching duties at the latter in 2011.

Maurice Kenny lived the final years of his life in Saranac Lake, where he died on April 16,2016.

Maurice Kenny was educated at Butler University, St Lawrence University and New York University, where he studied with American poet Louise Bogan.

Maurice Kenny was the editor and publisher of Strawberry Press and Many Moons Press.

Maurice Kenny read his poetry throughout the United States and Europe, including in Germany, the Czech Republic, Belgium, France, and Austria during two visits to the continent in 2011 and 2012.

Maurice Kenny held residencies at a number of colleges and universities, including St Lawrence University, the American Indian Community House in New York City, the Oneida Nation in Wisconsin, the University of California, Berkeley, the En'owkin Center, the University of Oklahoma, and Syracuse Community Writers.