Brigit Pegeen Kelly

Brigit Pegeen Kelly (1951 – October 14, 2016) was an American poet and teacher. Born in Palo Alto, California, Kelly grew up in southern Indiana and lived much of her adult life in central Illinois. An intensely private woman, little is known about her life.

Career
Kelly was the winner of numerous awards for her poetry, including the Yale Younger Poets award, a Whiting award, and, in 1997, was named the Lamont Poet at the Phillips Exeter Academy.

Kelly was a professor of Creative Writing at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and served as senior poetry editor of Ninth Letter. She also taught, previously at the University of California at Irvine, Purdue University, and Warren Wilson College.

Awards

 * 2008: Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets
 * 2006: Fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
 * 2005: Pulitzer Prize (poetry), Finalist (for The Orchard)
 * 2005: National Book Critics' Circle (poetry), Finalist
 * 2005: Los Angeles Times Book Award (poetry), Finalist
 * 2005: National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship
 * 1999: American Academy of Arts and Letters Witter Bynner Poetry Prize
 * 1996: Whiting Award
 * 1995: Los Angeles Times Book Prize in Poetry, Finalist
 * 1994: Lamont Poetry Prize (for Song)
 * 1986: Yale Younger Poets Award, selected by James Merrill
 * 1986: Discovery/The Nation Poetry Prize