Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry
1 appearances
-
Edition 6 (2000) Winner
David Ferry
デイヴィッド・フェリー
David Ferry
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1924-03-05 （Orange, New Jersey, U.S.）
- Died
- 2023-11-05 （Lexington, Massachusetts, U.S.） age 99
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Maplewood, New Jersey (raised) → Cambridge, Massachusetts (resided) → Brookline, Massachusetts (resided) → Lexington, Massachusetts (late life)
Career
- Occupations
- poet, translator, professor
- Active Years
- 1950-2023
- Affiliations
- Wellesley College (English Department, later Professor Emeritus), Boston University (taught writing), Suffolk University (distinguished scholar), American Academy of Arts and Sciences (fellow), Academy of American Poets (fellow)
- Memberships
- American Academy of Arts and Sciences (fellow), Academy of American Poets (fellow)
- Influenced By
- William Wordsworth, Horace, Virgil
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amherst College | — | English | B.A. | 1942-1946 | United States |
| Harvard University | — | English | Ph.D. | — | United States |
Amherst College
English
Degree:
B.A.
Period:
1942-1946
Year of Graduation:
1946
Country:
United States
Undergraduate studies interrupted by World War II service; received B.A. in 1946.
Harvard University
English
Degree:
Ph.D.
Country:
United States
Published his first poems during graduate studies.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize | Of No Country I Know (New and Selected Poems and Translations) | — | Academy of American Poets | 受賞 |
| 2000 | Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry | Of No Country I Know | — | Library of Congress | 受賞 |
| — | Harold Morton Landon Translation Award | — | 翻訳 | Academy of American Poets (award list) | 受賞 |
| 2011 | Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize | — | — | Poetry Foundation | 受賞（生涯功労） |
| 2012 | National Book Award for Poetry | Bewilderment: New Poems and Translations | — | National Book Foundation | 受賞 |
| 2012 | National Book Critics Circle Award (Poetry) | Bewilderment | — | National Book Critics Circle | ファイナリスト |
Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize
2000
Work:
Of No Country I Know (New and Selected Poems and Translations)
Organization:
Academy of American Poets
Result:
受賞
Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry
2000
Work:
Of No Country I Know
Organization:
Library of Congress
Result:
受賞
Harold Morton Landon Translation Award
Category:
翻訳
Organization:
Academy of American Poets (award list)
Result:
受賞
Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize
2011
Organization:
Poetry Foundation
Result:
受賞（生涯功労）
National Book Award for Poetry
2012
Work:
Bewilderment: New Poems and Translations
Organization:
National Book Foundation
Result:
受賞
National Book Critics Circle Award (Poetry)
2012
Work:
Bewilderment
Organization:
National Book Critics Circle
Result:
ファイナリスト
Awards & Nominations
Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 26 (2011) Winner
Works
Major Works
Bewilderment: New Poems and Translations
2012 poetry / translationsA collection of new poems and translations showcasing Ferry's late-career maturity; winner of the 2012 National Book Award.
timewatermemoryclassical allusion
Of No Country I Know: New and Selected Poems and Translations
1999 poetry / selectedA book of new and selected poems with translations; won the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize and the Bobbitt National Prize in 2000.
formal craftobservationdialogue with the classics
Gilgamesh: A New Rendering in English Verse
1992 translation (epic)A verse rendering of the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh into English; critically praised.
epic narrativeheroic talemortality and immortality
Virgil, The Aeneid (translation)
2017 translation (classics)Ferry's English translation of Virgil's Aeneid, praised for its naturalness and fidelity to the original.
fateheroismancient Roman history
The Limits of Mortality: An Essay on Wordsworth's Major Poems
1959 literary criticismA critical essay on Wordsworth's major poems; an early academic work.
Romanticismpoetic theory
Bibliography
- The Limits of Mortality: An Essay on Wordsworth's Major Poems (1959)
- On the Way to the Island (1960)
- Strangers: A Book of Poems (1983)
- Gilgamesh: A New Rendering in English Verse (1992)
- Dwelling Places: Poems and Translations (1993)
- The Odes of Horace: A Translation (1998)
- The Eclogues of Virgil (2000)
- Of No Country I Know: New and Selected Poems and Translations (1999)
- The Georgics of Virgil (2005)
- On This Side of the River: Selected Poems (2012)
- Bewilderment: New Poems and Translations (2012)
- Virgil, The Aeneid (2017)
Translations by Author
- Gilgamesh (verse translation)
- The Odes of Horace (translation)
- Virgil's works (The Eclogues, The Georgics, The Aeneid translations)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- concise, elegant styleHoratian virtues of restraint and clarityformal craft with attention to meter and tone
- Recurring Motifs
- images of water and riverstime and memoryclassical allusiondetailed observation of everyday life
Legacy
David Ferry was celebrated as a poet-translator for his restrained, elegant voice and deep engagement with the classics. His late-career translations and the 2012 National Book Award brought renewed recognition.
Academic Societies
- American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- Academy of American Poets
Archives
- Amherst College Library (possible holdings / related materials)
Quotes
-
“an assured quiet tone that communicates complexities of feeling with unfailing proportion and grace”
Source: Commentary by W. S. Merwin
Trivia
- Born in 1924 and died in 2023 at age 99.
- Taught for many years at Wellesley College and served as chair of the English Department.
- Published a praised translation of Virgil's Aeneid late in life.
- Won the 2012 National Book Award for Bewilderment.