# Lawrence Joseph > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lawrence_Joseph > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lawrence_Joseph.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Joseph > Source revision: 1353884126 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) For the Grenadian attorney and politician, see [Lawrence Albert Joseph](/source/Lawrence_Albert_Joseph). For the lawyer involved in attempts to overturn the 2020 US Election results, see [Lawrence J. Joseph](/source/Lawrence_J._Joseph). **Lawrence Joseph** (born 1948 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American poet, writer, essayist, critic, lawyer, and professor of law. ## Early life and education Lawrence Joseph was born in 1948 in Detroit, Michigan.[1] Joseph's grandparents, Lebanese [Maronite](/source/Maronite) and [Syrian](/source/Demographics_of_Syria) [Melkite Eastern Catholics](/source/Melkite_Greek_Catholic_Church), were among the first [Arab Americans](/source/Arab_Americans) to emigrate to Detroit around 1910, where both Joseph's parents were born.[1] He attended the [University of Detroit Jesuit High School](/source/University_of_Detroit_Jesuit_High_School), the [University of Michigan](/source/University_of_Michigan) (B.A, 1970), [Magdalene College, Cambridge](/source/Magdalene_College,_Cambridge) (B.A. 1972, M.A. 1976), and the [University of Michigan Law School](/source/University_of_Michigan_Law_School) (J. D. 1975). ## Career Joseph, perhaps best known as a poet, won the 1983 [Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize](/source/Agnes_Lynch_Starrett_Poetry_Prize) from the [Pitt Poetry Series](/source/Pitt_Poetry_Series) for his first book, *Shouting at No One*. His second book of poems, *Curriculum Vitae*, was published by the [University of Pittsburgh Press](/source/University_of_Pittsburgh_Press) in 1988. His most recent books of poems, *Before Our Eyes* (1993); *Codes, Precepts, Biases, and Taboos: Poems 1973–1993* (2005), *Into It* (2005); *So Where Are We?* (2017); and *A Certain Clarity* (2020) are published by [Farrar, Straus and Giroux](/source/Farrar,_Straus_and_Giroux). Joseph is also the author of *Lawyerland*, a book of prose, published by FSG in 1997. *Lawyerland* was optioned for a film by [John Malkovich](/source/John_Malkovich), Lianne Helfon and Russell Smith's Mr. Mudd Productions. A symposium, "The Lawyerland Essays," appeared in the [Columbia Law Review](/source/Columbia_Law_Review). His book *The Game Changed : Essays and Other Prose*, appeared in 2011 in the [University of Michigan Press](/source/University_of_Michigan_Press)’s *Poets on Poetry* series. Joseph's poems, essays and criticism have appeared in magazines and newspapers both in the United States and internationally. His essay on [Motown](/source/Motown) music and [Rhythm and Blues](/source/Rhythm_and_Blues), "The Music Is," which originally appeared in *Tin House*, was included in *Da Capo Best Music Writing 2003*, chosen by Guest Editor [Matt Groening](/source/Matt_Groening). His work has been widely anthologized, and his poetry is included in *The Oxford Book of American Poetry*. Joseph is also the Tinnelly Professor of Law at [St. John's University School of Law](/source/St._John's_University_School_of_Law) in New York City. Joseph served as law clerk to Justice [G. Mennen Williams](/source/G._Mennen_Williams) of the [Michigan Supreme Court](/source/Michigan_Supreme_Court). He then joined the faculty at the [University of Detroit](/source/University_of_Detroit) School of Law. In 1981, he moved to New York City, where he was associated with the firm of [Shearman & Sterling](/source/Shearman_%26_Sterling). He joined the St. John's law faculty in 1987. Writing as a lawyer, Joseph has published in areas of [labor](/source/Wage_labour), employment, [tort](/source/Tort) and compensation law, [jurisprudence](/source/Jurisprudence), [law and literature](/source/Law_and_literature), and legal theory. He has served as Consultant on Tort and Compensation Law for the [Michigan State Senate](/source/Michigan_State_Senate)'s Commission on Courts, and as Consultant for the [Governor of Michigan](/source/Governor_of_Michigan)'s Commission on Workers' Compensation, Occupational Disease and Employment and has received a grant from the Employment Standards Division of the [United States Department of Labor](/source/United_States_Department_of_Labor). He is former Chairperson of the [Association of American Law Schools](/source/Association_of_American_Law_Schools) section on Law and Interpretation. Joseph has read from his work at numerous universities and law schools throughout the country and internationally, including [Stanford University](/source/Stanford_University), [Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University), [Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University), [University of Michigan](/source/University_of_Michigan), [New York University](/source/New_York_University), [University of Pennsylvania](/source/University_of_Pennsylvania), [Georgetown University](/source/Georgetown_University), and [Northwestern University](/source/Northwestern_University). Among his awards are also a fellowship from the [John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation](/source/John_Simon_Guggenheim_Memorial_Foundation) and two [National Endowment for the Arts](/source/National_Endowment_for_the_Arts) fellowships. In 2006 he was named the third recipient of the New York County Lawyers Association's "Law and Literature Award" (prior recipients are [Louis Auchincloss](/source/Louis_Auchincloss) and [Louis Begley](/source/Louis_Begley)). As an undergraduate at Michigan, he received a major [Hopwood Award](/source/Hopwood_Award) in poetry. He has been a member of the board of directors of [Poets House](/source/Poets_House), [Poetry Society of America](/source/Poetry_Society_of_America), and The Writer's Voice, and served on the [International PEN](/source/International_PEN) Events Committee. In 1989, he lectured on law and on poetry in [Jordan](/source/Jordan), [Palestine](/source/Palestine_(region)), and [Egypt](/source/Egypt) through the cultural affairs offices of the United States embassies in each country. In 1994, he taught in the Council of the Humanities and Creative Writing Program at [Princeton University](/source/Princeton_University). His literary, professional, and personal papers have been acquired by the University of Michigan's Special Collections Library and are housed at the Hatcher Graduate Library. Joseph is a member of [Phi Beta Kappa](/source/Phi_Beta_Kappa) and the [American Bar Association](/source/American_Bar_Association). He is married to the painter [Nancy Van Goethem](/source/Nancy_Van_Goethem) and lives in [New York City](/source/New_York_City).[1] ## Bibliography ### Poetry **Collections** - *Shouting at No One* (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1983) - *Curriculum Vitae* (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1988) - *Before Our Eyes* (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1993) - *Codes, Precepts, Biases, and Taboos: Poems 1973–1993* (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005) - *Into It* (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005) - *So Where Are We? Poems*, poetry, (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2017) - *A Certain Clarity: Selected Poems*, poetry (Farrar Straus and Giroux, 2020)[a] **List of poems** Title Year First published Reprinted/collected A fable 2016 Joseph, Lawrence (January 25, 2016). "A fable". The New Yorker. 91 (45): 52–53. ### Other works - *Lawyerland*, prose, (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1997) - *The Game Changed: Essays and Other Prose*, criticism, (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2011) ——————— **Notes** 1. Hofmann, Michael (2020-03-07). ["On Lawrence Joseph"](https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v42/n06/michael-hofmann/on-lawrence-joseph). *London Review of Books*. Vol. 42, no. 6. [ISSN 0260-9592](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0260-9592). Retrieved 2021-12-08. ## References 1. Domestico, Anthony (March 17, 2020). ["'So Many Selves', A Poet of Unlikely Combinations"](https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/compound-voices). *Commonweal Magazine*. Retrieved 2021-12-08. ### Sources - *Contemporary Authors Online*. The Gale Group, 2004. PEN (Permanent Entry Number): 0000126684. - Moghabghab, Emma, and Sirène Harb. "Lawrence Joseph's Into It: A Political Study of Power and Community." Studies in the Humanities 37.1&2 (2010): 3–21. ## External links - [New York Times Book Review 2005 essay on Codes, Precepts, Biases, and Taboos and Into It](https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/25/books/review/25kirby.html?ex=1186632000&en=ce7127fca047945e&ei=5070) - [Love Conquers Evil: Poetry Is About the Timetable by Chris Hedges](https://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/03/nyregion/public-lives-love-conquers-evil-poetry-is-about-the-timetable.html) - [Academy of American Poets: Lawrence Joseph biography](http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/207) - [Poetry Foundation: Lawrence Joseph](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/lawrence-joseph) - [St. John's University: Professor Joseph profile](https://www.stjohns.edu/law/faculty/lawrence-joseph) - [Jacket 2 Feature Poet with a Steady Job: An Introduction to Lawrence Joseph, 2012, edited by Eric Selinger with essays by Thomas DePietro](https://jacket2.org/feature/poet-steady-job), [Norman Finkelstein](/source/Norman_Finkelstein), Lawrence Joseph, John Lowney, Frank D. Rashid, Eric Selinger, Lisa Steinman, [Lee Upton](/source/Lee_Upton), and Tyrone Williams - [Commonweal, Portrait of Our Time: An Interview with Lawrence Joseph by Anthony Domestico 2017](https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/interview-lawrence-joseph) - [Living in the Towers' Shadow](https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-poet-from-lawyerland-1505073233#comments_sector), by [David Skeel](/source/David_Skeel), review of *So Where Are We*, *Wall Street Journal*, September 10, 2017 - [Kenyon Review 2017 Interview with Lawrence Joseph](https://kenyonreview.org/conversation/lawrence-joseph/) - [Where Are We? One of the Most Brilliant and Intense People I've Ever Known Has Some Answers, by Marianne Szegedy-Maszak, *Mother Jones*, November 25, 2017](https://www.motherjones.com/media/2017/11/so-where-are-we-one-of-the-most-brilliant-and-intense-people-ive-ever-known-has-some-answers/So) - [The Best Poetry of 2017, by David Orr, *New York Times Book Review*, December 22, 2017](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/22/books/review/best-poetry.html?smid=tw-nytbooks&smtyp=cur&_r=0,) - [Lawrence Joseph in conversation](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U2ITaoj4Rk,) with [Paul Elie](/source/Paul_Elie) at Georgetown University, Feb. 1, 2018 - [The Way I Feel the World: An Interview with Lawrence Joseph by Philip Metres, *Michigan Quarterly Review*, May 28, 2018](https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/mqr/2018/05/the-way-i-feel-the-world-an-interview-with-lawrence-joseph/,) - [Lawrence Joseph, A Certain Clarity: Selected Poems, MacMillan Author’s Page](https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374720605) - [Thinking About Empire and Economy, With a Lawyer’s Mind and a Poet’s Words by Paul Franz, review of A Certain Clarity: Selected Poems, *The New York Times Book Review*, March 17, 2020](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/17/books/review/certain-clarity-selected-poems-lawrence-joseph.html) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lawrence Joseph](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Joseph) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Joseph?action=history)). 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