Ennis Rees

Dr. Ennis Rees, the author of 20 books, is noted for the versatility of his literary achievement--from his own Selected Poems and acclaimed verse translations of Homer and Aesop to his books of verse especially for children. In 1984, during the administration of Governor Dick Riley, Rees became South Carolina's third poet laureate. He is a professor emeritus of the University of South Carolina, where he taught English from 1954 to 1986. The late James Dickey, fellow poet, professor, and SC Academy of Authors inductee, regarded Rees's translations as among the finest of our times and characterized his poems as showing "both passion and wit, combined with an inventive and resourceful technique. His range is broad and his penetration is deep."