Rest in Peace, Thomas Lux (1946–2017)

We are saddened to report that renowned poet Thomas Lux has passed away at the age of 70. From the Academy of American Poets:

The late Stanley Kunitz noted that “[Lux is] sui generis, his own kind of poet, unlike any of the fashions of his time.” Rita Dove, writing for the Washington Post Book World, has said, “Try Lux on for size. He’ll pinch in places, soothe in others, but I predict one thing: you may never fit the same way in your own skin again.”

Lux held the post as poet in residence at Emerson College (1972-1975) and was a member of the writing faculty at Sarah Lawrence College and the Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers. He also taught at the University of Iowa, University of Michigan, and the University of California at Irvine, among others. He was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award and received three National Endowment for the Arts grants and a Guggenheim Fellowship.

He lived in Atlanta, where he served as the Bourne Professor of Poetry and director of the McEver Visiting Writers program at the Georgia Institute of Technology until his death. He died on February 5, 2017.

Our best wishes to Lux's friends, family, and students.