Robert Pinsky

Robert Pinsky (born 1940) is an American poet and former Poet Laureate of the United States (1997-2000). He is known for his innovative, personal style, and his use of contemporary themes. Pinsky is a professor at Boston University where he teaches in the graduate creative writing program.  Pinsky was born in Long Branch , New Jersey . Pinsky attended Long Branch High School before earning his B.A. from Rutgers University and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Stanford University , where he held a Stegner Fellowship in creative writing. He taught at Wellesley College and the University of California , Berkeley before going to Boston University .  He has received many literary awards and honors, including the Los Angeles Times Book Award, the Academy of American Poets ' translation award, the Ambassador Book Award in Poetry, and the Lenore Marshall Award, in addition to being nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Critics Award in Criticism.