Philip Levine (poet)
Philip Levine | |
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![]() Levine reading on September 16, 2006
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Born | Detroit, Michigan, USA |
January 10, 1928
Died | February 14, 2015 Fresno, California, USA |
(aged 87)
Occupation | Poet |
Alma mater | University of Iowa |
Years active | 1963–2015 |
Spouse | Patty Kanterman (1951–1953), Frances J. Artley (?–2015) |
Children | Mark, John, Teddy |
Philip Levine (January 10, 1928 – February 14, 2015) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet best known for his poems about working-class Detroit. He taught for more than thirty years in the English department of California State University, Fresno and held teaching positions at other universities as well. He served on the Board of Chancellors of the Academy of American Poets from 2000 to 2006,[1] and was appointed Poet Laureate of the United States for 2011–2012.[2][3]
Contents
Biography
Philip Levine grew up in industrial Detroit, the second of three sons and the first of identical twins of Jewish immigrant parents. His father, Harry Levine, owned a used auto parts business,[4] his mother, Esther Priscol (Prisckulnick) Levine, was a bookseller.[5] When Levine was five years old, his father died.[6] While growing up, he faced the anti-Semitism embodied by Father Coughlin, the pro-Nazi radio priest.[7]
Levine started to work in car manufacturing plants at the age of 14. Detroit Central High School graduated him in 1946 and he went to college at Wayne University (now Wayne State University) in Detroit, where he began to write poetry, encouraged by his mother, to whom he dedicated the book of poems, The Mercy.[8] Levine earned his A.B. in 1950 and went to work for Chevrolet and Cadillac in what he called "stupid jobs."[2]
He married his first wife, Patty Kanterman, in 1951. The marriage lasted until 1953.[5]
In 1953 he attended the University of Iowa without registering,[9] studying with, among others, poets Robert Lowell and John Berryman, the latter of whom Levine called his "one great mentor."[10]
In 1954 he earned a mail-order masters degree with a thesis on John Keats' "Ode to Indolence,"[6] and married actress Frances J. Artley.[4]
He returned to the University of Iowa teaching technical writing, completing his Master of Fine Arts degree in 1957.[6] The same year, he was awarded the Jones Fellowship in Poetry at Stanford University. In 1958 he joined the English department at California State University in Fresno, where he taught until his retirement in 1992. He also taught at many other universities, among them New York University as Distinguished Writer-in-Residence, at Columbia, Princeton, Brown, Tufts and the University of California at Berkeley.[11]
Levine and his wife had made their homes in Fresno and Brooklyn.[12] He died of pancreatic cancer on February 14, 2015, aged 87.[13]
Work
The familial, social, and economic world of twentieth century Detroit is one of the major subjects of Levine's life work.[14] His portraits of working class Americans and his continuous examination of his Jewish immigrant inheritance (both based on real life and described through fictional characters) has left a testimony of mid-twentieth century American life.[14]
Levine's working experience lent his poetry a profound skepticism in regard to conventional American ideals. In his first two books, On the Edge (1963) and Not This Pig (1968), the poetry dwells on those who suddenly become aware that they are trapped in some murderous processes not of their own making.[15] In 1968, Levine signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War.[16]
In his first two books, Levine was somewhat traditional in form and relatively constrained in expression.[14] Beginning with They Feed They Lion, typically Levine's poems are free-verse monologues tending toward trimeter or tetrameter.[17] The music of Levine's poetry depends on tension between his line-breaks and his syntax. The title poem of Levine's book 1933 (1974) is an example of the cascade of clauses and phrases one finds in his poetry.[14] Other collections include A Walk with Tom Jefferson, New Selected Poems and the National Book Award-winning What Work Is.[14]
On November 29, 2007 a tribute was held in New York City in anticipation of Levine's eightieth birthday.[17] Among those celebrating Levine's career by reading Levine's work were Yusef Komunyakaa, Galway Kinnell, E. L. Doctorow, Charles Wright, Jean Valentine and Sharon Olds.[17] Levine read several new poems as well.[17]
Awards
- 2013 Academy of American Poets Wallace Stevens Award [1]
- 2011 Appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress (United States Poet Laureate)[1]
- 1995 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry – The Simple Truth (1994)[1]
- 1991 National Book Award for Poetry[18] and Los Angeles Times Book Prize – What Work Is
- 1987 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize from the Modern Poetry Association and the American Council for the Arts[1]
- 1981 Levinson Prize from Poetry magazine[1]
- 1980 Guggenheim Foundation fellowship[1]
- 1980 National Book Award for Poetry[19] – Ashes: Poems New and Old[1]
- 1979 National Book Critics Circle Award – Ashes: Poems New and Old – 7 Years from Somewhere[1]
- 1978 Harriet Monroe Memorial Prize from Poetry[1]
- 1977 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize from the Academy of American Poets– The Names of the Lost (1975)[1]
- 1973 American Academy of Arts and Letters Award, Frank O'Hara Prize, Guggenheim Foundation fellowship[1]
Published works
Poetry collections
- News of the World, Random House, Inc., 2009, ISBN 978-0-307-27223-2
- Stranger to Nothing: Selected Poems, Bloodaxe Books, UK, 2006, ISBN 978-1-85224-737-9
- Breath Knopf, 2004, ISBN 978-1-4000-4291-3; reprint, Random House, Inc., 2006, ISBN 978-0-375-71078-0
- The Mercy, Random House, Inc., 1999, ISBN 978-0-375-70135-1
- Unselected Poems, Greenhouse Review Press, 1997, ISBN 978-0-9655239-0-5
- The Simple Truth, Alfred A. Knopf, 1994, ISBN 978-0-679-43580-8; Alfred A. Knopf, 1996, ISBN 978-0-679-76584-4
- What Work Is, Knopf, 1992, ISBN 978-0-679-74058-2
- New Selected Poems, Knopf, 1991, ISBN 978-0-679-40165-0
- A Walk With Tom Jefferson, A.A. Knopf, 1988, ISBN 978-0-394-57038-9
- Sweet Will, Atheneum, 1985, ISBN 978-0-689-11585-1
- Selected Poems, Atheneum, 1984, ISBN 978-0-689-11456-4
- One for the Rose, Atheneum, 1981, ISBN 978-0-689-11223-2
- 7 Years From Somewhere, Atheneum, 1979, ISBN 978-0-689-10974-4
- Ashes: Poems New and Old, Atheneum, 1979, ISBN 978-0-689-10975-1
- The Names of the Lost, Atheneum, 1976
- 1933, Atheneum, 1974, ISBN 978-0-689-10586-9
- They Feed They Lion, Atheneum, 1972
- Red Dust (1971)
- Pili's Wall, Unicorn Press, 1971; Unicorn Press, 1980
- Not This Pig, Wesleyan University Press, 1968, ISBN 978-0-8195-2038-8; Wesleyan University Press, 1982, ISBN 978-0-8195-1038-9
- On the Edge (1963)
Essays
- The Bread of Time (1994)
Translations
- Off the Map: Selected Poems of Gloria Fuertes, edited and translated with Ada Long (1984)
- Tarumba: The Selected Poems of Jaime Sabines, edited and translated with Ernesto Trejo (1979)
Interviews
- Don't Ask, University of Michigan Press, 1981, ISBN 978-0-472-06327-7
- Moyers & Company, on December 29, 2013, Philip Levine reads some of his poetry and explores how his years working on Detroit’s assembly lines inspired his poetry.
- "Interlochen Center for the Arts", Interview with Interlochen Arts Academy students on March 17, 1977.
Notes
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 "Philip Levine". Poets.org. Retrieved February 15, 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Charles McGrath (August 9, 2011). "Voice of the Workingman to Be Poet Laureate". The New York Times. Retrieved August 9, 2011.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ [1] Poetry Foundation website February 15, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Russel Frank (December 28, 1994). "The Poet of the Night Shift: Literature: For Philip Levine, it was not a long trip from factory work to writing some of America's best poetry". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 15, 2011.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Christopher Buckley, ed. (1991). On the poetry of Philip Levine: stranger to nothing. University of Michigan Press. pp. 1–3. ISBN 978-0-472-06392-5.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Dana Gioia, Chryss Yost, Jack Hicks, eds. (2004). "Philip Levine". California poetry: from the Gold Rush to the present. A California legacy book. Heyday. pp. 159–160. ISBN 978-1-890771-72-0.CS1 maint: uses editors parameter (link)<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "American-Jewish poet Phillip Levine named U.S. Poet Laureate". Haaretz. August 10, 2011. Retrieved August 15, 2011.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ Edward Hirsch and Philip Levine (1999). "The Unwritten Biography: Philip Levine and Edward Hirsch in Conversation". American Poet. Retrieved August 15, 2011.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ Mona Simpson (Summer 1988). "Philip Levine, The Art of Poetry No. 39". The Paris Review No. 107. Retrieved August 15, 2011. Italic or bold markup not allowed in:
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(help)<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles> - ↑ "Philip Levine". Academy of American Poets. Retrieved August 15, 2011.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Librarian of Congress Appoints Philip Levine Poet Laureate". Library of Congress. August 10, 2011. Retrieved August 15, 2011.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ Donald Munro (August 9, 2011). "Fresno's Philip Levine named nation's poet laureate". The Fresno Bee. Retrieved August 15, 2011.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Philip Levine, U.S. Poet Laureate Who Won Pulitzer, Dies At 87". New York Times.com. Retrieved February 15, 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 "Poet laureate Philip Levine dies at age 87". Seattle Times.com. Retrieved February 15, 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Philip Levine, former U.S. poet laureate and Fresno State professor, dead at 87". Fresno Bee.com. Retrieved February 15, 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” January 30, 1968 New York Post
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 "Celebrating Philip Levine's 80th". Albany Poets.com. Retrieved February 15, 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "National Book Awards – 1991". National Book Foundation. Retrieved February 27, 2012.
- ↑ "National Book Awards – 1980". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
(With essay by John Murillo from the Awards 60-year anniversary blog.)
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Philip Levine. |
- "Philip Levine Resources". The Library of Congress.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- "Philip Levine: Biography, Poems, & Video". Academy of American Poets.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- "Philip Levine (1928- )". Modern American Poetry.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- "Philip Levine: Biography, Poems, Articles & more". The Poetry Foundation.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- Guy Shahar (Producer) and Lynn Levy (Editor) (Winter 2009). Poets in Person: Philip Levine (video). The Cortland Review.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- Nick Heath (September 22, 2004). "Levine, Philip, 1928-today". libcom.org.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- Wen Stephenson (April 8, 1999). "A useful Poetry. An interview with Philip Levine". The Atlantic.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- Mona Simpson (Summer 1988). "Philip Levine, The Art of Poetry No. 39". The Paris Review.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- "Philip Levine, Interview and Poems". The Cortland Review. May 1999.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- 2012 Levine interview at Words on a Wire
- Phillip Levine on America's Workers, Moyers & Company, December 27, 2013
- Correspondence with Gerald Stern
- CS1 maint: uses editors parameter
- CS1 errors: markup
- Use mdy dates from February 2015
- Commons category link is locally defined
- 20th-century American poets
- 21st-century American poets
- American Poets Laureate
- Jewish American poets
- Poets from California
- Pulitzer Prize for Poetry winners
- National Book Award winners
- Guggenheim Fellows
- American academics of English literature
- Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters
- California State University, Fresno faculty
- University of Houston faculty
- New York University faculty
- Writers from Detroit, Michigan
- Wayne State University alumni
- Iowa Writers' Workshop alumni
- 1928 births
- 2015 deaths