Education
He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Calvin College and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Edinburgh (Scotland).
He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Calvin College and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Edinburgh (Scotland).
Jellema began teaching at the University of Maryland, College Park in 1955, where he founded and directed the creative writing program He is currently Professor Emeritus. He is the author of five books of poetry and three translations.
His work has been awarded the Hart Crane Memorial Contest, the Pieter Jelles Prize (Piter Jellespriis) (Friesland) and a Columbia University Translation Prize for his translations of Frisian poetry.
He has been the recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, and Yaddo. His work has appeared in various publications including Atlanta Review, Beltway Quarterly, Field, Many Mountains Moving, Plum Review, and Poet Lore.
He divides his time between Washington, District of Columbia, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and the Lake Michigan dunelands near Montague, Michigan. He is currently working on an early history of New Orleans jazz titled Really Hot: A New Hearing for Old New Orleans Jazz (co-authored with the late Gordon Darrah).