Bibliography
Poetry
- Rivers into Islands, University of Chicago Press, 1965.
- the intricate land, New Rivers Press, 1969.
- dogs and cats and things like that. McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1971.
- our street feels good. McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1972.
- Thinking of Offerings, Juniper Press, 1975.
- A Box of Sandalwood: Love Poems, Juniper Press, 1979.
- Selected Poems. BkMk Press, 1985.
- Poems from the Sangamon, University of Illinois Press, 1985.
- Begging an Amnesty, Druid Press, 1994.
- The Chinkapin Oak, Rosehill Press, 1995.
- The One Instant and Forever, Illinois Wesleyan University, 2001.
- Prayer Against Famine and Other Irish Poems, BkMk Press, 2004.
- Walking in Snow, Pearn and Assoc., Inc., 2008.
- Shadows & Starlight, Indian Paintbrush Poets, 2012.
Prose
- Dim Tales, a collection of stories concerning Henry Allison Rollins Dim, famous central Illinois proverbist, Stormline Press, 1989.
- I look Around for my Life: An Autobiography, Pearn and Assoc., Inc., 2008
Translations
- From the Hungarian Revolution: A Collection of Poems, ed. David Ray, with others, "transversions" from the work of Hungarian writers imprisoned during the Russian Takeover, Cornell University Press, 1966
- Twenty Poems of Cesar Vallejo, with Robert Bly and James Wright, The Sixties Press, 1961. Reprinted in Neruda and Vallejo: Selected Poems, Beacon Press, 1971, with subsequent issues.
- Tang Dynasty Poems and Song Dynasty Poems, with Wang Shouyi of Heilonhjiang University, Harbin, China, Spoon River Poetry Press, both in 1985.
- Poems from Tang and Song Dynasties, Chinese edition, 1998
Colloquies
- Self interviews, serious and otherwise, published in various magazines: Centennial Review, New Letters, Kansas Quarterly, among others.
Special Collections
- The Knoepfle Collection: tape recorded interviews with some 60 steamboat men of the inland rivers,
gathered from 1954-1960, Division of Inland Rivers, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio. Tapes and transcripts are also housed in Brookens Library, University of Illinois at
Springfield. - The Peoria-Miami Language Collection: materials gathered from 1985 through 1993, recopied by and for The Illinois State Museum Archives, with presentations from there to the Miami and the Peoria tribal headquarters in Oklahoma. A sampling of this material can be found in “The Peoria-Miami Free Form,” Nimrod (Oklahoma Indian “Markings” issue). 32:2 (Spring-Summer, 1989), 122-143.
Journal Publications
- Some Notes on Men of the Inland Rivers, Midcontinent American Studies Journal, Spring 1963.
- Shakespeare’s Henry V and the Geneva Bible Isaiah, Essays
in Medieval Studies VI, 1990. - An Illinois-Miami Our Father, Illinois Writers Review, Fall 1992.
- Some Thoughts on Sandburg’s Poems, Illinois Writers Review,
Fall 1992. - Peoria-Miami Narratives and Cult Hero Tales, Clockwatch Review, 1993.
Videos
- Lights Breaking: Ethical Questions about Genetic Engineering (filmed in the Dinosaur National Monument), Utah, Cusak Productions, 1984.
- Inland Voyages: The Poetry of John Knoepfle, James Scott Productions, St. Louis, Missouri, 1995.
Poem of the Month
- March 2016:
saturday in dublin - February 2016:
bowl - December 2015:
this silent moment - November 2015:
reading the heavens - December 2014:
well I had something in mind - December 2012:
winter miracle - November 2012:
veterans day - October 2012:
conjugal secret - September 2012:
a difficult morning
"I would consider John Knoepfle one of those classic poets of place. His attachment to the
midwest is a genuine attachment; it is the place that he inhabits, rather than writes
about, and that is what makes the poems so lovely. I think it has to do with his sense of
relationship of place to person to word."
—Brooke Bergen
About John
John Knoepfle is the author of over 20 books of poetry as well as several prose pieces. He is Professor Emeritus of Literature at the University of Illinois- Springfield. His awards include fellowships from the Rockefeller Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts as well as the Mark Twain Award for Contributions to Midwestern Literature. Click here to read
...more about John
Order a book
For information on contacting John, or to order a book, click here.