John Balaban is the author of fourteen books of poetry and prose, including four volumes which together have won The Academy of American Poets’ Lamont prize, a National Poetry Series Selection, and two nominations for the National Book Award, After Our War (1974) and Locusts at the Edge of Summer (1998). His Locusts at the Edge of Summer: New and Selected Poemswon the 1998 William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society of America. He was named the 2001-2004 National Artist for the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. In 2003, he was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship. In 2008, he was awarded a medal from the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture for his work in translation and digital preservation of ancient texts. In 2017, he received the George Garrett Award for Outstanding Community Service in Literature from the Associated Writing Programs. His book of poetry, Empires, came out from Copper Canyon Press in 2019. His Passing through a Gate, (2024) is his collection of poems, essays, and translations.
