Michael Anania

Michael Ananania (born August 5, 1939) is an American poet.

Life
Anania was born in Omaha, Nebraska. His mother, Dora, was an immigrant from Germany. His father, Angelo, an immigrant from Italy, was unable to hold a regular job due to tuberculosis, and supported the family by odd jobs and playing cards. Anania grew up in a housing project and attended Omaha inner-city schools where "saying you were a poet would be a little bit like standing up and saying you were a target."

Anania attended the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, where he studied under Karl Shapiro, and the Municipal University of Omaha. He did graduate work at the State University of New York at Buffalo, then taught at Fredonia University, Northwestern University (1965-1968), and the University of Illinois at Chicago. His first collection of poetry, The Colour of Dust, was published in 1970.

Poetry

 * The Color of Dust. Chicago: Swallow Press, 1970.
 * Set/Sorts. Chicago: Wine Press, 1974.
 * The Fall. Chicago: Editions du Grenier, 1977.
 * Aesthetique du Râle. Chicago: Editions du Grenier, 1977.
 * Riversongs. Urbana & London: University of Illinois Press, 1978.
 * Constructions/Variations. Peoria, Ill.: Spoon River Poetry, 1985.
 * The Sky at Ashland: On the Conditions of Place: Two Poems. New York: Haybarn Press, 1985.
 * The Sky at Ashland. Mount Kisco, N.Y.: Mayer Bell, 1986.
 * In Plain Sight: Obsessions, Morals and Domestic Laughter. Mount Kisco, N.Y.: Asphodel Press, 1991.
 * Selected Poems. Wakefield, R.I.: Asphodel Press, 1994.

Fiction

 * The Red Menace. New York: Thunder's Mouth, 1984.

Edited

 * New Poetry Anthology (edited by Anania). Chicago: Swallow Press, 1969.
 * Gardening the Skies (edited by Anania). Springfield: Southwest Missouri State University Press, 1988.

Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy of the Poetry Foundation.