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{{short description|American poet}}
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'''Janine Pommy Vega''' (February 5, 1942 &ndash; December 23, 2010) was an [[United States poetry|American]] [[poet]] associated with the [[Beat generation|Beats]].<ref name=NewYorkTimes>Grimes, William (January 2, 2011). [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/03/arts/03vega.html "Janine Pommy Vega, Restless Poet, Dies at 68"]. ''[[The New York Times]]''.</ref>

{{Infobox person
| name = Janine Pommy Vega
| birth_date = February 5, 1942
| birth_place = [[Jersey City, New Jersey]]
| death_date = {{death date and age |2010|12|23 |1942|02|05 |mf=yes}}
| death_place = [[Willow, New York]]
| occupation = Writer, poet
| notable_works = ''Poems to Fernando''; ''Tracking the Serpent''; ''The Green Piano''
}}

⚫
'''Janine Pommy Vega''' (February 5, 1942 – December 23, 2010) was an [[United States poetry|American]] [[poet]] associated with the [[Beat generation|Beats]].


==Early life==
==Early life==
Janine Pommy was born on February 5, 1942, in [[Jersey City, New Jersey]], and grew up in [[Union City, New Jersey]]. Her father worked as a milkman in the mornings and a carpenter in the afternoons. At the age of sixteen, inspired by [[Jack Kerouac|Jack Kerouac's]] ''[[On the Road]]'', she traveled to [[Manhattan]] to become involved in the [[Beat generation|Beat scene]] there.<ref name=NewYorkTimes/>
Janine Pommy was born in [[Jersey City, New Jersey]].<ref name=Ind>Hunt, Ken (February 22, 2011). [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/janine-pommy-vega-beat-poet-and-close-associate-of-corso-ginsberg-and-orlovsky-2221669.html "Obituary: Janine Pommy Vega: Beat poet and close associate of Corso, Ginsberg and Orlovsky"]. ''[[The Independent]]''.</ref> Her father worked as a milkman in the mornings and a carpenter in the afternoons.<ref name=NewYorkTimes>Grimes, William (January 2, 2011). [https://web.archive.org/web/20130601160224/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/03/arts/03vega.html "Janine Pommy Vega, Restless Poet, Dies at 68"]. ''[[The New York Times]]''. Archived from [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/03/arts/03vega.html the original] on June 11, 2013.</ref> At the age of sixteen, inspired by [[Jack Kerouac]]{{'s}} ''[[On the Road]]'', she went with a friend to the [[Cedar Tavern]] in [[Greenwich Village]], where they met [[Gregory Corso]]; in 1960, after graduating as [[valedictorian]] of her high school class, she moved in with [[Allen Ginsberg]] and [[Peter Orlovsky]].<ref name=NewYorkTimes/>


==Career==
==Career==
In 1962, Vega moved to [[Europe]] with her husband, painter Fernando Vega. After his sudden death in Spain in 1965, she returned to [[New York City]], and then moved to [[California]]. Her first book, ''Poems to Fernando'', was published by [[City Lights Bookstore|City Lights]] in 1968 as part of their [[City Lights Pocket Poets Series]]. During the early-1970s, Vega lived as a hermit on the [[Isla del Sol]] in [[Lake Titicaca]] on the Bolivian-Peruvian border. Out of this self-imposed exile came ''Journal of a Hermit'' (1974) and ''Morning Passage'' (1976).
She worked as a waitress and wrote Beat-inspired experimental poetry. In December 1962, she married the Peruvian painter {{ill|Fernando Vega (painter)|lt=Fernando Vega|fr|Fernando Vega (peintre)|vertical-align=sup}} in Israel and moved with him to Paris, where she collected money for street musicians and [[Life model|model]]ed at the [[Beaux-Arts de Paris|École des Beaux-Arts]].<ref name=Ind/><ref name=NewYorkTimes/> After Vega's sudden death in [[Ibiza]] in 1965, she returned to the United States and moved to [[California]]. Her first book, ''Poems to Fernando'', was published by [[City Lights Bookstore|City Lights]] in 1968 in their [[City Lights Pocket Poets Series]], the third volume by a woman.<ref name=Ind/>


In the 1970s and 1980s Vega traveled widely, trekking in the Himalayas and living in Peru, Colombia, and Bolivia, including two years as a hermit on the [[Isla del Sol]] in [[Lake Titicaca]] on the Bolivian-Peruvian border, where she completed ''Journal of a Hermit'' (1974) and ''Morning Passage'' (1976).<ref name=Ind/><ref name=NewYorkTimes/> ''Tracking the Serpent: Journeys to Four Continents'' (1997) chronicles her 1980s travels to centers of ancient [[matriarchy]].<ref name=NewYorkTimes/>
Following her return to America, she has published more than a dozen books, including ''Tracking the Serpent: Journeys to Four Continents'' (1997) which is a collection of travel writings. Her last book of poetry was ''The Green Piano''.<ref>Vega, Janine Pommy (2005), ''The Green Piano: New Poems'', David R. Godine, Publisher. {{ISBN|1-57423-207-X}}</ref>


In addition to her own books of poetry, the last of which was ''The Green Piano'' (2005),<ref name=NewYorkTimes/> Vega was widely anthologized, including in ''City Lights Pocket Poets Anthology'' and ''Women of the Beat Generation''.<ref name=TWC>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070210195912/https://twc.org/writers/pp_jpvega.html "Janine Pommy Vega"]. [[Teachers & Writers Collaborative]]. Archived from [https://twc.org/writers/pp_jpvega.html the original] on February 10, 2007.</ref> She also toured with a band called Tiamalu, performing in English and Spanish.<ref name=TWC/>
In the 1970s, Vega began working as an educator in schools through various arts in education programs and in prisons through the Incisions/Arts organisation. She has served on the [[International PEN|PEN]] Prison Writing Committee. Pommy Vega was a pioneer of the women's movement in the United States. She had worked to improve the lives, conditions, and opportunities for women in prison.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}


===Teaching===
Vega had traveled throughout the North American and South American continents, all throughout Europe, including Eastern Europe, countries in the Middle East, often alone. She made friends everywhere, approaching all on the same, basic, human level, with love and compassion.{{citation needed|date=August 2013}}
Vega taught in schools in English and Spanish through arts in education programs including [[Teachers & Writers Collaborative]], Poets in the Schools, Arts/Genesis, and [[New York City Ballet]],<ref name=TWC/> and beginning in the mid-1970s in prisons through Incisions/Arts, becoming its director in 1987, and later through the Bard Prison Initiative run by [[Bard College]].<ref name=NewYorkTimes/> She served on the [[International PEN|PEN]] Prison Writing Committee.<ref name=TWC/>


==Personal life and death==
==Later life and death==
From 1999, Vega lived with poet [[Andy Clausen]]. On December 23, 2010, she died at home in [[Willow, New York]], of a heart attack.<ref name=NewYorkTimes/><ref name=Ind/>
By 2006, Vega was living near [[Woodstock, New York|Woodstock]]. She spent the last 11 years of her life with poet Andy Clausen.{{citation needed|date=August 2013}}


==Awards==
Janine Pommy Vega died peacefully of a heart attack at her home in [[Willow, New York]] on December 23, 2010.<ref>[http://www.janinepommyvega.com/quickinfo.htm "Janine Pommy Vega"]. janinepommyvega.com. Retrieved August 30, 2013.</ref><ref>Hortillosa, Summer Dawn (January 5, 2011). [http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2011/01/union_city_poet_janine_pommy_v.html "Union City poet Janine Pommy Vega, 68, dies after suffering heart attack"]. [[NJ.com]].</ref>
She won two Golda Awards, the second for ''The Green Piano'', and was awarded many grants, including an annual grant from the [[New York State Council on the Arts]] for her work in prisons through Incisions/Arts.<ref>[http://www.janinepommyvega.com/grants.htm Grants]. ''Janine Pommy Vega''. Retrieved May 23, 2022.</ref>

== Works==
* ''Poems to Fernando'' (1968)
* ''Journal of a Hermit'' (1974); repr. with ''Under The Sky''
* ''Morning Passage'' (1976)
* ''Here at the Door'' (1978)
* ''The Bard Owl'' (1980)
* ''Skywriting'' (1988)
* ''Apex of The Earth's Way'' (1984)
* ''Drunk on a Glacier, Talking to Flies'' (1988)
* ''Island of the Sun'' (1991)
* ''Threading the Maze'' (1992)
* ''Red Bracelets'' (1993)
* ''Tracking the Serpent: Journeys to Four Continents'' (1997)
* ''The Road to Your House Is A Mountain Road'' (1995)
* ''The Walker'' (2003)
* ''Mad Dogs of Trieste: New & Selected Poems'' (2000)
* ''The Green Piano'' (2005)<ref>[http://www.janinepommyvega.com/books.htm Books]. ''Janine Pommy Vega''. Retrieved May 23, 2022.</ref>


==References==
==References==
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==External links==
==External links==
*http://www.janinepommyvega.com/
*[http://www.janinepommyvega.com/ Website]
*[http://www.pierrejoris.com/blog/?p=5548 Janine Pommy-Vega (1942-2010)] this [[tombeau|cyber tombeau]] by poet [[Pierre Joris]] includes the opening poem of her first book, ''Poems to Fernando'' (City Lights Books, 1968) and a homage-poem by [[Valery Oişteanu]] called "The Drum Circle for Janine Pommy Vega".
*[http://www.pierrejoris.com/blog/?p=5548 Janine Pommy-Vega (1942-2010)]: [[tombeau|cyber tombeau]] by poet [[Pierre Joris]], including the opening poem of ''Poems to Fernando'' and a homage-poem by [[Valery Oişteanu]], "The Drum Circle for Janine Pommy Vega".

{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


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[[Category:Poets from New Jersey]]
[[Category:Poets from New Jersey]]
[[Category:Poets from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Poets from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Disease-related deaths in New York (state)]]
[[Category:American women poets]]
[[Category:American women poets]]
[[Category:20th-century American poets]]
[[Category:20th-century American poets]]
[[Category:20th-century women writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American women writers]]
[[Category:20th-century writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American women]]

Latest revision as of 17:03, 15 February 2023

Janine Pommy Vega
BornFebruary 5, 1942
Jersey City, New Jersey
DiedDecember 23, 2010(2010-12-23) (aged 68)
Willow, New York
Occupation(s)Writer, poet
Notable workPoems to Fernando; Tracking the Serpent; The Green Piano

Janine Pommy Vega (February 5, 1942 – December 23, 2010) was an American poet associated with the Beats.

Early life[edit]

Janine Pommy was born in Jersey City, New Jersey.[1] Her father worked as a milkman in the mornings and a carpenter in the afternoons.[2] At the age of sixteen, inspired by Jack Kerouac's On the Road, she went with a friend to the Cedar Tavern in Greenwich Village, where they met Gregory Corso; in 1960, after graduating as valedictorian of her high school class, she moved in with Allen Ginsberg and Peter Orlovsky.[2]

Career[edit]

She worked as a waitress and wrote Beat-inspired experimental poetry. In December 1962, she married the Peruvian painter Fernando Vega [fr] in Israel and moved with him to Paris, where she collected money for street musicians and modeled at the École des Beaux-Arts.[1][2] After Vega's sudden death in Ibiza in 1965, she returned to the United States and moved to California. Her first book, Poems to Fernando, was published by City Lights in 1968 in their City Lights Pocket Poets Series, the third volume by a woman.[1]

In the 1970s and 1980s Vega traveled widely, trekking in the Himalayas and living in Peru, Colombia, and Bolivia, including two years as a hermit on the Isla del Sol in Lake Titicaca on the Bolivian-Peruvian border, where she completed Journal of a Hermit (1974) and Morning Passage (1976).[1][2] Tracking the Serpent: Journeys to Four Continents (1997) chronicles her 1980s travels to centers of ancient matriarchy.[2]

In addition to her own books of poetry, the last of which was The Green Piano (2005),[2] Vega was widely anthologized, including in City Lights Pocket Poets Anthology and Women of the Beat Generation.[3] She also toured with a band called Tiamalu, performing in English and Spanish.[3]

Teaching[edit]

Vega taught in schools in English and Spanish through arts in education programs including Teachers & Writers Collaborative, Poets in the Schools, Arts/Genesis, and New York City Ballet,[3] and beginning in the mid-1970s in prisons through Incisions/Arts, becoming its director in 1987, and later through the Bard Prison Initiative run by Bard College.[2] She served on the PEN Prison Writing Committee.[3]

Later life and death[edit]

From 1999, Vega lived with poet Andy Clausen. On December 23, 2010, she died at home in Willow, New York, of a heart attack.[2][1]

Awards[edit]

She won two Golda Awards, the second for The Green Piano, and was awarded many grants, including an annual grant from the New York State Council on the Arts for her work in prisons through Incisions/Arts.[4]

Works[edit]

  • Poems to Fernando (1968)
  • Journal of a Hermit (1974); repr. with Under The Sky
  • Morning Passage (1976)
  • Here at the Door (1978)
  • The Bard Owl (1980)
  • Skywriting (1988)
  • Apex of The Earth's Way (1984)
  • Drunk on a Glacier, Talking to Flies (1988)
  • Island of the Sun (1991)
  • Threading the Maze (1992)
  • Red Bracelets (1993)
  • Tracking the Serpent: Journeys to Four Continents (1997)
  • The Road to Your House Is A Mountain Road (1995)
  • The Walker (2003)
  • Mad Dogs of Trieste: New & Selected Poems (2000)
  • The Green Piano (2005)[5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Hunt, Ken (February 22, 2011). "Obituary: Janine Pommy Vega: Beat poet and close associate of Corso, Ginsberg and Orlovsky". The Independent.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Grimes, William (January 2, 2011). "Janine Pommy Vega, Restless Poet, Dies at 68". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 11, 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d "Janine Pommy Vega". Teachers & Writers Collaborative. Archived from the original on February 10, 2007.
  4. ^ Grants. Janine Pommy Vega. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  5. ^ Books. Janine Pommy Vega. Retrieved May 23, 2022.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Janine_Pommy_Vega&oldid=1139538202"