Biography

In May, 2002, a theatrical and musical adaptation of the poetry of Donald Hall and Jane Kenyon titled "Sounds of Absence: A Dramatic Presentation of the Poetry and Music of Loss" was performed at Chicago's DePaul University. Susan McGury wrote and directed the piece.

He was awarded the 2010 National Medal of Arts for his contributions to American poetry. He was a Poet Laureate of the United States from 2006 to 2007.

He earned degrees from Harvard and Oxford University.

He was best known as a poet, but also wrote plays, short stories, essays, children's books, biographies, and co-wrote a popular guide to writing, "Writing Well".

He started writing poetry at age 12, when his interest in horror movies inspired him to read the works of Edgar Allan Poe.

One does write, indeed, to be loved. Fame is another word for love, an impersonal word for love. One wants people 200 years from now to love your poetry. The great pleasure of being a writer is in the act of writing, and surely there is some pleasure in being published and being praised. I don't mean to be complacent about what I have some of. But the greater pleasure is in the act. When you lose yourself in your work, and you feel at one with it, it is like love.