Ted Greenwald (1942-2016) was born in Brooklyn, raised in Queens, and lived in New York City his entire life. He wrote daily for over 50 years and published more than 30 books. A central figure in the second-generation of the New York school and a major influence on language writing, as a poet he is sui generis, they broke the mold. His work combines rigorous formal invention, a keen ear for plain talk, and a finger on the pulse of the life of the times. Three books of work from the 1970s are newly published, The Age of Reasons (Wesleyan), Common Sense (Wesleyan), and Own Church (Spuyten Duyvil). Other recent books include Comma Fork / Moving Parts and In Your Dreams (BlazeVOX), as well as the memoir of his childhood and youth, Clearview/LIE (United Artists). Greenwald was an integral part of The Poetry Project community having served as Newsletter editor in the 1970s as well as having been a longtime board member.
Off the Hook
He is gone now
Taking his body with him
When all the time
I thought it was
The beauty of his mind
I loved
from COMMON SENSE