George Eklund

George Eklund (born 1952 in Portsmouth, Virginia) is an American writer, translator, former educator, and the author of over ten collections of poetry. A 1992 recipient of the Al Smith Fellowship in Poetry from the Kentucky Arts Council, Eklund taught creative writing from 1989 to 2016 at Morehead State University where he was recognized with the Distinguished Creative Production Award in 2007 and 2014 He served as president of the Kentucky State Poetry Society from 2015 to 2017.

Personal life and education Born to George Earnest Eklund and Joan Hines Eklund in Portsmouth, Virginia in 1952, Eklund grew up in Long Island, New York as the oldest of six children.

Early in his career, Eklund named James Wright, García Lorca, and César Vallejo as important influences to his own work.

Teaching career After graduating from the University of Dubuque with a Bachelor of Arts in English Education, Eklund taught high school English in Massapequa, New York for one year, before leaving public education to focus on writing. Eklund returned to public high school teaching in 1983, joining the faculty at Dubuque Community Schools, where he worked with at-risk students in an alternative school setting. After attending the Iowa Writer's Workshop and earning his Master's of Fine Arts, Eklund began teaching at Morehead State University in 1989, where he remained until 2016, and where he currently holds the title of professor emeritus. Al Smith Fellowship in Poetry from the Kentucky Arts Council Mississippi Valley Poetry Award Iowa Arts Council Award