Photo: Slowking4 / GFDL 1.2 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Ben Lerner fascinates me because he refuses to stay in one lane. Poet, novelist, essayist, critic, and a teacher on top of it, with Fulbright, Guggenheim, and MacArthur honors to show for it. That's not just productivity, it's a restless intelligence that treats genre boundaries as suggestions. I find writers like him both intimidating and inspiring. Growing up in Topeka, Kansas, he's about as middle-American as origins get, yet his work speaks to a global literary conversation. To me, that tension between rooted and cosmopolitan is exactly what makes his voice worth following.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Ben Lerner
- Name (Japanese)
- ベン・ラーナー
- Reading
- べん・らーなー
- Born
- February 4, 1979 (age 47)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Aquarius / Goat
- Origin
- Topeka, Kansas, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- poet / essayist / writer / university teacher / novelist
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Topeka High School
- University
- Brown University
Awards & achievements
- MacArthur Fellows Program
- 2011 Preis der Stadt Münster für Europäische Poesie
- Fulbright Scholarship
- Guggenheim Fellowship
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Ben Lerner born?
Born February 4, 1979 (age 47).
Where is Ben Lerner from?
Ben Lerner is from Topeka, Kansas, United States.
What does Ben Lerner do?
Ben Lerner works as poet, essayist, writer, university teacher, novelist.
Poet — see all → · Essayist — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-21
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.