Gerald William Barrax

Gerald William Barrax (June 21, 1933 – December 7, 2019) was an American poet and educator.

His poems appeared in numerous anthologies and journals. He was recognized by several awards, including the Raleigh Medal of Arts for "Extraordinary Achievement in the Arts" in 1993, the Sam Regan Award for contribution to the fine arts in North Carolina in 1991, and the 1983 Callaloo Creative Writing Award for Nonfiction Prose.

Barrax served as a professor of English and creative writing at North Carolina State University.

Biography Barrax was born in Attalla, Alabama, on June 21, 1933. Barrax spent his early years in the rural South before moving with his family to Pittsburgh in 1944. Barrax began to write poetry when he was 18. Barrax was introduced to poetry by his then peer Ellen. The two would often exchange poetry and read it to each other.

After graduating in 1951 Barrax went to work for one year at the U.S. Steel Company in Homestead to fund his college education. During his time at the Mill Barrax would meet a former ex-convict named Eddie. Eddie introduced Barrax to a book titled 'This is my Beloved" by Walter Benton. Barrax would take inspiration from Benton's work in his own poems.

In a 2009 documentary produced by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, Barrax said that he was the first black teacher at North Carolina State University. He retired from teaching in 1997.

In 2009, Barrax was awarded the North Carolina Award for Literature.

Works Barrax published these books of poetry:

1970: Another Kind of Rain, 1980: An Audience of One : Poems 1987: The Deaths of Animals and Lesser Gods, Vol. 4 1992: Leaning against the Sun, nominated for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. 1998: From a Person Sitting in Darkness : New and Selected Poems