“Hoffman, born in New York City, was educated at Columbia, through to the Ph.D. He is the author of nine books of poetry, including Hang-Gliding from Helicon: New and Selected Poems; a verse novel, Middens of the Tribe, and Brotherly Love, a finalist for the National Book Award in 1985. His poetry is noted for merging history, myth and personal experience. He is Felix E. Schelling Professor of English Emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania.”

–Library of Congress Poets Laureate page