Collected by: New York University

Archived since: Jun, 2019

Description:

Michael Lally (1942- ) was born and raised in New Jersey. He joined the Air Force in 1962 and after four years left the service. Through the G.I. Bill he received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Iowa. In 1969, he moved to Washington, D.C. to teach at Trinity College. While in D.C. he became involved in the local poetry scene, where he established the Mass Transit poetry reading series which was considered an important incubator for Language Poetry, and launched a poetry publishing collective, Some of Us Press (SOUP) with wife Lee Lally, Ed Cox, and Tina Darragh. SOUP published Lally’s book, The South Orange Sonnets, in 1972. In 1975 Lally separated from his first wife, the poet Lee Lally, and moved to New York, where he wrote poetry; founded a small publishing company, O Press; and also edited the anthology None of the Above: New Poets of the USA. In 1982 Lally moved to Los Angeles to pursue opportunities in film and television as a writer and actor. He appeared in numerous movies, television episodes, and plays including Basic Instinct, White Fang, Father Dowling Mysteries, and Deadwood. In addition to writing his own original screenplays and plays, Lally was a script doctor in which he contributed to existing screenplays. During his time in Los Angeles, Lally co-founded the Poetry in Motion series (1988–1996), which received media attention for its mix of Hollywood celebrities and poets. While living in California Lally also helped found and edit the original Venice magazine. Lally has published over 27 books of poetry and memoirs. His awards include the 92nd St. Y Poetry Center’s Discovery Award for The South Orange Sonnets; numerous National Endowment for the Arts grants; and the 2000 American Book Award for It’s Not Nostalgia. In 2006, Lally started the blog Lally’s Alley.