Jon Tribble, an award-winning poet and managing editor of the Crab Orchard Review, has died. His wife and fellow poet, Allison Joseph, announced his death on Instagram. His cause of death has not been revealed.
“Today I learned that my best friend and my beloved husband, Jon Tribble, died,” Joseph reveals that she was not present when her husband passed away. “This grief is raw, and new, and terrible, and I am so sorry for this loss–so many people adored my husband. I am headed home (we were apart for the last few days) to find a way forward.”
Tribble was from Little Rock, Arkansas, and according to his website, he worked as a maintenance worker, fry cook, and numerous other jobs before becoming an author. He received a BA in English from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and an MA and MFA from Indiana University at Bloomington, where he worked as a staff member for the Indiana Review and eventually became its editor.
He was the author of three collections of poems: Natural State, And There Is Many a Good Thing, and most recently, God of the Kitchen, which was released last year.
Tribble was the is the recipient of a 2003 Artist Fellowship Award in Poetry from the Illinois Arts Council. The late author also won the Campbell Corner Poetry Prize from Sarah Lawrence College and the Nazim Hikmet Poetry Prize Competition.
His poetry has appeared in several anthologies and publications, including The Jazz Poetry Anthology, Poetry Magazine, and Dublin Poetry Review. Several fans and former students of Triblle have paid tribute to him on social media the following news of his death becoming public.
It grieves us to announce that Jon Tribble, Managing Editor of the Crab Orchard Review and long-time faculty member of the English Department at SIUC, has passed away. Information regarding memorial and funeral services is forthcoming.
— Crab Orchard Review (@CrbOrchdReview) October 2, 2019
My first two books were published by Southern Illinois University Press and we’re sculpted with assistance from Jon Tribble. He had a beautiful mind that could put together order from the most disparate and… https://t.co/tzw781eZOh
— Oliver de la Paz (@Oliver_delaPaz) October 2, 2019
The writing world lost one of its best today with Jon Tribble passing far too early. He was beyond kind, undeniably brilliant, and just a tireless advocate and mentor for all of us who needed it.
If you get a chance and need a break, give him a read.https://t.co/YeLEZdJFGQ
— Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) October 2, 2019
If you’ve been published by @COSPoetry or @CrbOrchdReview then you know Jon Tribble and what a force of good he was in the poetry & publishing world. He was my mentor and helped shape my first book in grad school. Please hold Allison in your heart – this loss is extraordinary pic.twitter.com/8Fu0oYa2CI
— Ruth Awad (@RuthAwad) October 2, 2019
https://twitter.com/MariposaBoy/status/1179463268047425538
Jon Tribble is remembered for his contributions to poetry and he is survived by his wife, Allison Joseph.