Ralph Angel

Ralph Angel, a poet and translator, was born in Seattle on May 2, 1951. He was the author of five poetry collections during his lifetime: Your Moon (New Issues Poetry and Prose, 2014), the recipient of the Green Rose Poetry Prize; Exceptions and Melancholies: Poems, 1986–2006 (Sarabande Books, 2006), winner of the PEN USA Poetry Award; Twice Removed (Sarabande Books, 2001); Neither World (Miami University Press, 1995), which received the 1995 James Laughlin Award; and Anxious Latitudes (Wesleyan University Press, 1986).

Angel also published an award-winning translation of the Federico García Lorca collection Poema del cante jondo [Poem of the Deep Song] (Sarabande Books, 2006) and the posthumously published essay collection A Day in the Life (Black Ocean, 2026).

Angel’s other honors included a Pushcart Prize and awards from the Fulbright Foundation and the Poetry Foundation. He was the Edith R. White Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Redlands and a member of the MFA in writing faculty at Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Ralph Angel died on March 6, 2020. His posthumous poetry collection, Even Blood, was published by Black Ocean in 2026.