 His volume, "The Ha-Ha" was chosen one of ten "Best Books of 2003" by "Boston Globe" critic Clea Simon, and was shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize.His work has won numerous awards, including four Pushcart Prizes, the James Dickey Prize, and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Guggenheim Foundation.Kirby obtained his Ph.D. in 1969 from Johns Hopkins University.