Gift of Poetry to York College
Posted November 8, 2002FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
York, Pennsylvania -- Dr. L. Kenneth Work, an adjunct faculty member at York College of Pennsylvania, has given the College an early Christmas present of sorts. Work, a resident of Harrisburg, has donated an extensive collection of poetry and other materials by the late, Pulitzer Prize winning author James Merrill. Dr. Work was a personal friend of Merrills' and his family. The poet's father was Charles E. Merrill, a founder of the stock brokerage Merrill, Lynch & Company.
Merrill is one of the most admired of American poets, known for his elegance of writing and moral sensibility. He won the Pulitzer Prize for "Divine Comedies," written in 1976. Merrill also won the Bollingen Prize for poetry, two National Book Awards, and the Bobbitt Prize, a national honor for poetry given by Congress. He wrote 14 books of verse that established him as heir to the lyrical legacy of W.H. Auden and Wallace Stevens.
Dr. Work's gift includes books, poems, audio and video tapes, and newspaper clippings. "Hopefully we can establish a great collection of James Merrill's writings at York College, one that would be a source for many people," says Work. He plans to contribute more material from Merrill, including photographs and personal correspondence with the poet and his family, at a later date.
For more information about the recently donated materials, and/or to arrange an interview with Dr. Work, please contact Randy Gray in the York College PR Office, (717) 815-1309, e-mail: .
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