John K. Bollard

John Bollard received a BA from the University of Rochester in New York, after which an interest in medieval literature, especially early Arthurian literature, enticed him to the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, where he took an MA in Medieval Welsh Language, Literature, and History. Moving then to the University of Leeds, he received a PhD for his comparative study of Middle English and Welsh Arthurian narrative. His published articles on the structure of The Mabinogi are recognized as seminal studies that broke new ground in our understanding of this Welsh classic. While pursuing a career as a lexicographer and editor in western Massachusetts, Dr. Bollard has taught courses in Medieval Welsh literature at the University of Massachusetts, the University of Connecticut, and Yale University, as well as courses in English at Smith College and Mount Holyoke College, and he has lectured widely on Medieval Welsh Literature and History. He has also published translations of early Welsh Arthurian poetry, the romance of Peredur, the prophetic poetry of Myrddin (Merlin), and Chaucer's Wife of Bath's Tale. He recently served as Executive Editor of the African American National Biography at Harvard University, and is currently Editorial Director of the Native American Biography Project.