Ronald Edward Rector was born in Washington, D.C.; he adopted the name Liam in adulthood. He was educated at various undergraduate programs but did not receive a bachelor's degree; he did, however, receive master's degrees in writing from
Johns Hopkins University and in public administration from the
Harvard Kennedy School. He was the author of volumes of poetry including
The Executive Director of the Fallen World (University of Chicago, 2006),
American Prodigal (Story Line, 1994), and
The Sorrow of Architecture (Dragon Gate, 1984). Rector was married three times, with the first two marriages ending in divorce; he had a daughter from his second marriage. With his third wife,
Tree Swenson, he edited
On the Poetry of Frank Bidart: Fastening the Voice to the Page (University of Michigan, 2007), and edited
The Day I Was Older: On the Poetry of Donald Hall (Story Line, 1989). Rector co-created (with poet Robert McDowell) a model for a low-residency MFA Program, and later founded and directed the graduate writing seminars at Bennington College in Vermont. He taught at
Columbia University,
The New School, and
Emerson College. Rector committed suicide by gunshot in his
Greenwich Village apartment on August 15, 2007, at the age of 57. He had incurred a series of health problems in his last years, including heart disease and cancer, and mentioned this in his suicide note. ==Legacy==