Craig Arnold Explained

Craig Arnold
Birth Date:	16 November 1967
Birth Place:	United States
Disappeared Date:	April, 2009 (age 41)
Disappeared Place:	Kuchinoerabujima, Japan

Craig Arnold (November 16, 1967  - April 27, 2009) was an American poet and professor. His first book of poems, Shells (1999), was selected by W. S. Merwin for the Yale Series of Younger Poets.^[1] His many honors include the 2005 Joseph Brodsky Rome Prize Fellowship in literature, The Amy Lowell Poetry Traveling Fellowship, an Alfred Hodder Fellowship, a Fulbright Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, and a MacDowell Fellowship.^{[2] [3]}

Biography

Arnold taught poetry at the University of Wyoming.^[4] His poems have appeared in anthologies including The Best American Poetry 1998 and The Bread Loaf Anthology of New American Poets, and in literary journals including Poetry, The Paris Review, Denver Quarterly, Barrow Street, New Republic and Yale Review.^[5] Arnold grew up in the United States, Europe and Asia. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1990 and his Ph.D. degree in creative writing from the University of Utah in 2001.^[3] He was also a musician, and performed as a member of the band Iris.^[6]

Disappearance

On April 27, 2009, Arnold went missing on the small volcanic island of Kuchinoerabujima, Japan. He went for a solo hike to explore an active volcano on the island and never returned to the inn where he was staying. While Japanese law mandates government-backed searches for three days, on April 30, 2009, the Japanese government agreed to extend the search an additional three days.^[7] Arnold was not found, and the search was then picked up by the international non-governmental organization 1st Special Response Group.^[8] Arnold's trail was found near a high cliff, and he was presumed to have died from a fall near the date of his disappearance.^[9]

A collection of poetry, Love, an Index, written by Arnold's partner Rebecca Lindenberg and telling the story of their relationship, was published in March 2012.^[10]

A detailed account of Arnold's last few days and the extensive search, entitled An Exchange for Fire, was written by Christopher Blasdel and appeared in the anthology My Postwar Life: New Writings from Japan and Okinawa, published by Chicago Quarterly Review Books, January, 2012.^{[11] [12]}

Bibliography

Collections

• Arnold, Craig. 1999. Shells. Yale series of younger poets, v. 93. New Haven: Yale University Press,
• Arnold, Craig. 2008. Made Flesh. Keene, NY: Ausable Press.

Translations

• fleischgeworden (selected poems, translated into German by Jan Volker Röhnert, luxbooks, 2008)

Awards and honors

• 2009 - US-Japan Creative Artists Program
• 2008 - Fulbright Fellowship
• 2005 - Rome Prize in Literature, American Academy of Arts and Letters
• 2001 - Alfred Hodder Fellowship in the Humanities, Princeton University
• 2001 - Dobie Paisano Fellow^[13]
• 1999 - John Atherton Fellowship in Poetry from the Bread Loaf Writers Conference^[13]
• 1999 - Great Lakes Colleges Association New Writers Award^[14]
• 1998 - National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship
• 1998 - Utah Arts Council Original Writing Award for a book in poetry^[14]
• 1998 - National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship
• 1996 - Amy Lowell Poetry Travelling Scholarship

See also

• List of people who disappeared

External links

• Poems by Craig Arnold and tributes to him at PoetryFoundation.org
• Poem: Poetry > Incubus, by Craig Arnold
• Find Craig Arnold - Website with information on the search

Notes and References

1. Web site: Poets.org - Poetry, Poems, Bios & More - Other Major Poetry Awards. poets.org. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20080515000730/http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/115. 2008-05-15.
2. Web site: American Academy in Rome - The Rome Prize - 2005-06 Recipients. aarome.org. 2006-02-06. 2009-05-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20090505162701/http://www.aarome.org/rome_prize/2006winners.htm. dead.
3. http://waywiser-press.com/craigarnold.html Wayweiser Press The Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize 2006 Two Poems from Craig Arnold's Made Flesh Followed by a Note on the Author
4. Web site: Wyoming Authors Wiki / Craig Arnold. https://web.archive.org/web/20071013070608/http://wiki.wyomingauthors.org/Craig+Arnold. dead. 2007-10-13. wyomingauthors.org.
5. Web site: Middlebury College > Public Affairs > News > Middlebury College Bread Loaf Writers' Conference 1999 Schedule of Lectures and Readings > July 30, 1999. middlebury.edu. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20091025073640/http://www.middlebury.edu/about/pubaff/news_releases/news_1999/blwc99.htm. October 25, 2009.
6. Web site: Craig Arnold. 14 July 2017. Poetry Foundation. 6 June 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20100808234959/http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=220. 8 August 2010. dead.
7. Web site: Search for U.S. professor in Japan extended through Tuesday - CNN.com. Hanna. Jason. www.cnn.com. en. 2017-05-13.
8. Web site: Trackers find trail of missing US poet in Japan. Associated Press. 2009-05-06. Yamaguchi. Mari. 2009-05-06.
9. http://www.uwyo.edu/news/showrelease.asp?id=31201 University of Wyoming > News Release > News Release: UW Poet and Professor Believed to Have Died After Fall > May 8, 2009
10. Web site: Love, An Index. store.mcsweeneys.net.
11. Web site: Blasdel. Christopher. An Exchange for Fire— The Final Pilgrimage of Poet Craig Arnold. yohmei.com. 25 August 2017. 2011.
12. Web site: Making a life after surviving the war - The Japan Times. japantimes.co.jp. 2012-07-14. 2012-07-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20120707005442/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fb20120603a1.html. dead.
13. Web site: Graduate School - The University of Texas at Austin. www.utexas.edu.
14. Web site: Welcome - Yale University Press. yalepress.yale.edu.