Samuel John Hazo
Samuel John Hazo (born July 19, 1928) is an American writer and teacher from Pittsburgh. He is a poet, playwright, novelist, essayist, and founder and director emeritus of the International Poetry Forum in Pittsburgh. He spent 43 years as a professor of English at Duquesne University, where he is now Emeritus.
Hazo was born in Pittsburgh to refugee parents—his mother was Lebanese and his father was Assyrian from Jerusalem. His mother died when he was young, and he was raised by his aunt, who valued education and inspired his love of learning and writing. He served in the United States Marine Corps from 1950 to 1957, finishing as a captain.
He earned a BA from the University of Notre Dame (magna cum laude), an MA from Duquesne University, and a PhD from the University of Pittsburgh. He began writing poetry as an undergraduate at Notre Dame, after initially studying law. His experiences during the Korean War era helped shape recurring themes in his work, including family, Christianity, war, suffering, life’s absurdities, and the mystery of death.
Hazo believes strongly in the power of poetry. He founded the International Poetry Forum to bring poets to Pittsburgh and show poetry’s relevance to the public. He has received many honors, including Phi Beta Kappa honorary membership (1976), the Hazlett Award (1986), the Forbes Medal (1987), the Pittsburgh Centre for the Arts Cultural Award (1995), and the Elizabeth Kray Award from NYU, along with twelve honorary doctorates. His poetry collection Just Once won the Maurice English Poetry Award (2003). He published A Flight To Elsewhere (2005) and The Power of Less: Essays on Poetry And Public Speech (2005). Notre Dame awarded him the Griffin Award for Creative Writing in 2004. He was the first poet laureate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, serving from 1993 to 2003.
Hazo and his wife, Mary Anne, have one son, Samuel Hazo Jr., who is a composer.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 08:21 (CET).