Document Type
Finding Aid
Publication Date
1-1975
Abstract
John Joseph McKernan (11 May 1942 – 17 April 2025) was born in Omaha, Nebraska, and taught at Marshall University from 1967 to 2010. He arrived with a M.A. in English from the University of Arkansas and earned two additional degrees while teaching full-time: a M.A. in Creative Writing from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in English from Boston University.
McKernan published poetry widely, including in the Boston Review, Prairie Schooner, The Virginia Quarterly Review, The Ohio Review, The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, and The Paris Review. He published four collections: Walking Along the Missouri River (Lost Roads Press, 1977), Annex 21 (University of Nebraska, 1978), Postcard from Dublin (Dead Metaphor Press, 1999), and Resurrection of the Dust (Backwaters Press, 2007).
At Marshall, McKernan founded both the WV Writing Across the Curriculum Program and the University Writing Lab. He was a finalist for the 2001 Professor of the Year Award from the Faculty Merritt Foundation and received the faculty’s Distinguished Artist and Scholar Award.
The John McKernan Papers contains two different subjects: New York radical counterculture and protest material during the 1960s-1970s and John McKernan’s published works in literary journals and magazines.
Rights
Special collections material is obtained from many sources and is intended primarily for research and educational purposes. Certain works may be protected by copyright, trademark, or related interests not governed by the department. It is up to the researcher to verify that they have permission to use these materials for publication or other activities.
Accession Number
1975/01.0078
Access and Use
For more information or to use any of these collections, contact:
Special Collections, Morrow Library
Marshall University
One John Marshall Drive
Huntington, WV 25755
(304) 696-2343
speccoll@marshall.edu
Recommended Citation
John McKernan Papers, 1967-1975, Accession No. 1975/01.0078, Special Collections Department, Marshall University, Huntington, WV.
Comments
Boxes 1 – 5 were donated in 1975. Boxes 6 – 10 were donated in the summer of 2014. For more John McKernan materials, see collection 0829: The John McKernan Collection.