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News Release

Contact: Tom Parisi, NIU Office of Public Affairs
(815) 753-3635

March 16, 2004

Writers' association will honor poet Lucien Stryk

DeKalb, Ill.--The Association of Writers & Writing Programs will pay tribute to Lucien Stryk, an internationally acclaimed Zen poet and former English professor at Northern Illinois University, during the group's annual conference later this month in Chicago.

More than 3,000 writers from all parts of the country are expected to be present at the annual conference and book fair, the largest gathering of its kind. The tribute to Stryk will be held from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Friday, March 26, in the Monroe Ballroom of the Palmer House.

A native of Chicago, Lucien Stryk has written or edited more than two-dozen volumes of poetry, translations and collections. His poetry has been translated into Japanese, Chinese, French, Spanish, Swedish and Italian, and he has been the subject of articles in numerous periodicals.

Stryk served on the NIU faculty from 1958 until his retirement in 1991.He taught at universities in Japan and was a Fulbright lecturer there and in Iran. Over the course of his career, Stryk has received numerous awards for his poetry and translations. He also is a much sought after presenter, having conducted poetry readings at hundreds of universities.

"Lucien Stryk was a popular choice for a tribute," said David Fenza, executive director of the Association of Writers & Writing Programs.

"Literature has become more of a global enterprise, less myopic and less nationalistic," Fenza said. "As a fine translator and poet, Lucien Stryk was one of the early advocates for a literature that was more open to new possibilities of feeling and thinking. His kinship with Zen in poetry, too, makes him an invaluable literary light. We live in a hyper culture that keeps accelerating the nutty pace of our diversions. His work indicates there are saner, more wholesome ways to experience the world.

"He's also a champion of the Midwest, its landscape, its people, and its poets," Fenza added. "We're thrilled to have him participate in our conference."

Speakers during the tribute to Stryk will include NIU alumnus Karl Elder, the Fessler Professor of Writing and Poet in Residence at Lakeland College in Wisconsin. Elder will read a tribute to Stryk, titled "The Moral Authority of Lucien Stryk," a memoir from a special feature of writers on their mentors.

"Stryk has a stellar reputation in the literary community," Elder said. "My guess is that it will be nearly cosmic after the tribute."

At NIU, Stryk was the recipient of both the Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award and the Presidential Research Professorship. Steve Franklin, NIU English professor and assistant to the dean of Liberal Arts & Sciences, recalls that his former professor was extremely popular among NIU students. Many of the students considered Stryk their friend and mentor, including Franklin, who met the poet as a graduate student.

"NIU is fortunate to have had Lucien Stryk as a poet in residence and faculty member for so many years," Franklin said. "He is internationally acclaimed for his beautiful poetry, which addresses great intellectual, moral and philosophical issues but is always rooted in the everyday world.

"It's wonderful that the AWP is honoring Lucien in Chicago," Franklin added. "The location provides an opportunity for many alums and former colleagues to attend the tribute."

For more information about the Association of Writers and Writing Programs and its annual conference, visit www.awpwriter.org.

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