Longman Professor Emeritus of English and Creative Writing David Young Dies at 88

Longman Professor Emeritus of English and Creative Writing David Young died on Saturday, May 3. He was 88.

An esteemed poet, translator, editor, and scholar, Young taught at Oberlin between 1961 and 2003, leaving an indelible mark on students with his courses on English Renaissance literature, poetry, and creative writing. He cofounded the biannual poetry journal FIELD and served as the publication’s editor for 50 years; additionally, he was the cofounder of Oberlin College Press and founder of Oberlin’s London Program (now known as the Danenberg Oberlin-in-London Program).

Young was the author of more than 40 books of poetry, translation, and literary criticism, including the career-spanning poetry collection Field of Light and Shadow: Selected and New Poems (Knopf), which was released in an expanded edition in 2023. He received multiple prestigious awards for his work, including a Pushcart Prize, a Witter Bynner Translation Fellowship, the Ohioana Book Award in Poetry, and a Cleveland Arts Prize. Young was also a 1979 Guggenheim Fellow in poetry and in 1982 received an NEA Fellowship in Poetry.

As celebrated as he was in the literary world, Young was principally known in Oberlin as a teacher, says David Walker ’72, Emeritus Professor of English. “David had a profound influence on countless students, many of whom have gone on to major careers as poets and teachers. In the 24 hours since I posted the news of his death on Facebook, alumni have posted literally hundreds of expressions of love and gratitude for his teaching. I met him as an 18-year-old Oberlin freshman, and he never stopped teaching me. What an amazing life.”

Young earned a bachelor’s degree at Carleton College and both a master’s degree and doctorate at Yale University. 

A celebration of Young’s life will be held at a later date; learn more and share tributes here.