Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Knapp, Jeffrey
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1949-2010
History
Jeffrey Knapp (March 2, 1949 - February 17, 2010), born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, was a poet, artist, translator, and art-collector based in Miami-Dade. He was responsible for multiple projects that sought to engage Miami-Dade's larger community, especially its school population, to get involved with producing and consuming poetry. One of his major initiatives was the Florida's Poetry in the Schools program, which allowed children across Miami-Dade to experiment with poetry and see it published. He was also part of the itinerant project "Bicycle Poets," aimed at sharing poetry beyond Miami-Dade and across the state of Florida. He was also responsible for and the editor of the Dial-a-Poem project. Additionally, he served on the board of directors of Tigertail Productions, a pioneering organization dedicated to fostering visual, performing, and literary arts in Miami.
He was a faculty member of Florida International University starting in 1989 and later occupied several administrative positions. A prolific and professional writer, he presented his works at a number of international conferences, receiving many prizes in recognition of his work as a writer and instructor. His poems were also published in many well-known journals, including the Boston Review of the Arts.
He passed away at home, after a years-long battle against cancer, leaving his wife and his two daughters, his daughters Ariel Knapp and Astra Schwartz Dorf. He was married to Dina Knapp, a visual artist with whom he co-authored a number of fine-arts works, as well as Jewish heritage.
–Vanessa Rodrigues Barcelos da Silva
Graduate Student Assistant for Manuscripts and Archives Management, Summer 2025
Sources:
(1) Obituary - https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/herald/name/jeffrey-knapp-obituary?id=13275297
(2) Tigertail Productions - https://www.miamiherald.com/entertainment/article161396893.html