John Albert Holmes Jr. was a prolific poet and educator. He was born on January 6, 1904 in Somerville, Massachusetts. After attending public school in Somerville, Holmes attended Tufts University and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in 1929. He taught English at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania from 1930 to 1932, returning to Tufts in 1934 as an assistant professor in the English Department. He reached full professorship in 1960 and was given an honorary doctorate by Tufts in 1962.
Beyond teaching, Holmes achieved notable success as a poet and author. He published seven collections of poetry, two books on the writing of poetry, and numerous essays and book reviews. Holmes took great interest in supporting young poets and creating spaces for the discussion and sharing of poetry amongst the people of the larger Boston community around Tufts. He taught poetry workshops at the Boston Center for Adult Education, hosted an informal poetry circle among other Boston-area poets in the 1950s, and directed and participated in writing workshops at universities and conferences across the North East. Holmes died June 22, 1962 following a long illness in Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. After his death, his papers, including manuscripts of almost 1,000 poems, were donated to Tufts University. His extensive poetry book collection is held in Tisch Library Special Collections.
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