{"id":228,"date":"2026-10-07T16:47:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T20:47:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/academics\/faculty\/rtaylor\/"},"modified":"2026-10-07T16:47:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T20:47:13","slug":"rtaylor","status":"publish","type":"faculty","link":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/experiments\/faculty\/rtaylor\/","title":{"rendered":"Taylor, Richard"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Richard Taylor believes strongly that \u201cthe health of a free society depends upon an educated populace, one that is open to free inquiry and creative exploration.\u201d He also believes that Transylvania\u2019s small classes and \u201cgenuine culture of learning\u201d promote these ideals. And that\u2019s why he finds himself happily engaged with Transylvania students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a well-respected author\u2014and a former Kentucky poet laureate\u2014you would think that Taylor has a lot to teach his creative writing students. But Taylor feels that he gets just as much from them. \u201cThey constantly teach me new ways of creative expression as I read and discuss their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A liberal education is preparation for a fuller life, not just a vocational expedient. It is the doorway to leading the life of the mind for a lifetime.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m always reinvigorated by the creativity I see in students. It\u2019s not a self-conscious creativity. It\u2019s just something that\u2019s there and it comes out. And it makes me say, \u2018I\u2019m really glad I\u2019m doing this; it\u2019s an honor to teach these students.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taylor feels that frequently \u201ccreative students go straight into a rigorous academic program with very few opportunities to flex their creative muscles.\u201d That\u2019s not the case at Transylvania. He sees signs of creativity across the campus and among a large number of students. Some students participate in organized activities, perhaps with the theater, music, or art departments. Others find their own vehicles for creative expression, completely outside campus institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, Taylor mentions several students who have independently participated in online novel-writing programs, where the participants are required to write thousands of words a month toward their work-in-progress. These students demonstrate an irrepressible creativity that the rigors of their academic schedules can\u2019t stifle. Other students stop by his office on their own, outside of any classroom requirement, seeking advice about some verse or piece of fiction they\u2019re working on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWho would turn down that type of initiative among our students? Meeting students like that is incredibly encouraging, and it speaks very well of Transylvania. If it were just one or two students, it would be an anomaly. But it\u2019s a pattern among many of our students.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taylor finds this very promising. \u201cFor years and years education in general has neglected the creative wellspring that is a part of the human mind. So I\u2019m glad to see we\u2019re putting more emphasis on that. And certainly professors Martha Gehringer and Maurice Manning<\/a> and others on our campus are eliciting that from our students and giving them creative opportunities. It\u2019s something we can claim some institutional distinction for doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI work a lot with incoming students. I always ask \u2018How do you like Transylvania?\u2019 They all say the same thing: \u2018I just love Transylvania, Dr. Taylor, I just love it.\u2019 I think Transylvania students feel empowered and feel comfortable. They see themselves as part of a genuine learning community. I\u2019ve been on a number of campuses, and it ain\u2019t always so.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

Academic History<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Ph.D., University of Kentucky, 1974
J.D., Brandeis School of Law, University of Louisville, 1967
M.A., University of Louisville, 1964
B.A., University of Kentucky, 1963<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Courses Taught at Transy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Perspectives on Literature
Creative Writing, Poetry
Creative Writing, Fiction
First-Year Seminar<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Areas of Research<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Kentucky writing
Kentucky frontier history<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Awards<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Kentucky Poet Laureate, 1999\u20132000
Distinguished Professor Award from Kentucky State University, 1992
Two creative writing fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts
Fulbright scholar in Denmark
Reappointed for a four-year term as a member of the Kentucky Oral History Commission<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

Recent Publications<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Rare Bird: Sonnets on the Life of John James Audubon, Larkspur Press, Monterey, Ky., 2011<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fading into Bolivia, Accents Publishing, Lexington, Ky., 2011<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professional Memberships<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Kentucky Historical Society<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additional Information<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Working on a collection of poetry based on the life of Transylvania graduate Cassius Marcellus Clay<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Developing a classical Kentucky literature class with Neil Chethik at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Formerly an instructor and dean for Kentucky’s Governor’s Scholars Program and an instructor for the Governor’s School for the Arts<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Has completed eight collections of poems, two novels, and three nonfiction works on Kentucky history<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":3747,"template":"","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"Relevanssi image attachment filter Relevanssi index exclude","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"academic_division":[61,57,65],"class_list":["post-228","faculty","type-faculty","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nTaylor, Richard - Website Experiments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/experiments\/faculty\/rtaylor\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Taylor, Richard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Richard Taylor believes strongly that \u201cthe health of a free society depends upon an educated populace, one that is open to free inquiry and creative exploration.\u201d He also believes that Transylvania\u2019s small classes and \u201cgenuine culture of learning\u201d promote these ideals. 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