# Kenneth Pobo

Kenneth George Pobo (born August 24, 1954) is an American author, poet, and educator. He has received many awards throughout his career for his poetry and fiction, including the Moonstone Arts Chapbook Prize in 2019 and the Qarrtsiluni Poetry Chapbook Prize in 2011.

## Early life and education

Pobo began writing poetry in the summer of 1970, influenced by music of the late 1960s and early 1970s, as well as late and living poets of the time. He attended Wheaton College in Illinois, graduating in 1976. There, he began publishing his poetry in a number of literary magazines. He continued his education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. His master's thesis, completed in 1979, was his poetry manuscript entitled "Billions of Lit Cigarettes." His first volume of poetry, Musings from the Porchlit Sea, was published in 1979. He began work as a teaching assistant while at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he earned his Ph.D. in English in 1983.

## Career

Pobo served as poetry editor of the Cream City Review of the University of Wisconsin between 1981 and 1983. From 1983-2020, he had several teaching appointments, beginning as an instructor at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee, until 1987. That year, he was hired as an assistant professor at Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania. Between 1988 and 1993, he worked again as a poetry editor, this time for Widener Review. In 1991, he became an associate professor at Widener University, and in 2010, he was promoted to professor and remained in his position until he retired in 2020. He worked at Arcadia College during the summer of 1998. Throughout his years of teaching, Pobo focused on being student-centered, creating good class discussions, and helping students write more clearly and effectively.
Pobo has published more than 25 books of poetry and short fiction in addition to numerous poems and flash fiction pieces in literary journals and magazines, such as Indiana Review, Mudfish, The Cider Press Review, The Fiddlehead, and Hawaii Review. His poetry is regarded for exploring thoughtful and provocative questions of survival, both of humanity and nature. His writing is not only elegant and readable, but also ethical and ironic, such as in his book Bend of Quiet. Pobo is also appreciated for his research in and writing of LGBTQIA+ literature, including for his book of poems, Uneven Steven.
Between 1998 and 2003, Pobo sat as a review board member for The Oswald Review at the University of South Carolina Aiken. He has conducted many presentations and poetry readings across the United States. He has also written a number of reviews for publications, as well as essays.

## Personal life

Pobo enjoys spending weekends in his garden and listening to the Widecast Internet music show, Obscure Oldies. His favorite song of all time is "12:30 (Young Girls Are Coming To The Canyon)" by The Mamas & The Papas, released in 1967. However, he recently bought Michael Bublé's Nobody But Me. Pobo is also a tie-dye enthusiast and on the matter says, "I love color and I want color to slide all over me. Clothes should dream in color. No more coffin-esque flat colors afraid of their own energy."