John Hay

American poet, biographer, and naturalist John Hay was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, in 1915. After graduating from Harvard University, Hay befriended Conrad Aiken who acted as his mentor. Following this purchase, Hay was drafted into service for World War II, where he edited an Army newspaper, before publishing his first collection of poetry, A Private History (1947).

After the war, Hay continued to write about natural history, bird life, and environmental concerns. Writer David Gessner has called Hay a “prophet” in regard to his environmental concerns and considers Hay’s poetics “subtly radical.” After a lengthy career in environmental service, Hay died in 2011.