Bollingen Prize for Poetry
1 appearances
-
Edition 35 (1989) Winner
Edgar Bowers
エドガー・バウアーズ
Edgar Bowers
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1924-03-02 （Rome, Georgia, United States）
- Died
- 2000-02-04 （San Francisco, California, United States） age 75
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Rome, Georgia (birth) → Chapel Hill, North Carolina (education) → Stanford, California (graduate studies) → Santa Barbara, California (teaching career) → San Francisco, California (later life)
Career
- Occupations
- Poet, Professor of English
- Active Years
- 1950-1991
- Affiliations
- University of California, Santa Barbara (faculty), Duke University (associated)
- Influenced By
- Yvor Winters, J. V. Cunningham
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | — | — | BA | 1946–1950 | United States |
| Stanford University | — | English literature | MA, PhD | — | United States |
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Degree:
BA
Period:
1946–1950
Year of Graduation:
1950
Country:
United States
Stanford University
English literature
Degree:
MA, PhD
Country:
United States
Studied under Yvor Winters at Stanford
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Bollingen Prize in Poetry | Living Together: New and Selected Poems | — | Bollingen Prize committee | 受賞 |
| — | Guggenheim Fellowship | — | — | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation | 受賞（フェロー） |
| — | Guggenheim Fellowship | — | — | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation | 受賞（フェロー） |
Bollingen Prize in Poetry
1989
Work:
Living Together: New and Selected Poems
Organization:
Bollingen Prize committee
Result:
受賞
Guggenheim Fellowship
Organization:
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result:
受賞（フェロー）
Guggenheim Fellowship
Organization:
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result:
受賞（フェロー）
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
The Form of Loss
1956 PoetryEarly collection marked by formal precision and restrained diction.
lossformalist techniqueemotional restraint
The Astronomers
1965 PoetryMid-career collection weaving intellect with observations of nature.
scienceobservationreason
Living Together: New and Selected Poems
1973 Poetry (New and Selected)A selected volume considered central to his reputation by critics and prize juries.
formhuman relationshipsintersection of intellect and feeling
For Louis Pasteur
1989 PoetryLate collection including the title poem that honors scientist Louis Pasteur, reflecting admiration for science and art.
celebration of scienceesteem for the life of the mindrestrained sensibility
Collected Poems
1997 Poetry (Collected) 168 pagesCollected volume of major poems; concise, lapidary work gathered in one edition.
restraintformal beautycontrast of sensuality and reason
Bibliography
- The Form of Loss (1956)
- The Astronomers (1965)
- Living Together: New and Selected Poems (1973)
- For Louis Pasteur (1989)
- Collected Poems (1997)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- formalistprecise and restrained dictionattention to meter and tone
- Recurring Motifs
- celebration of science and intellectloss and mortalityreferences to music and the artscontrast between reason and passion
Health
-
Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma1999–2000Affected late-life health and led to his death in 2000.
Legacy
Edgar Bowers is known for his formalist poetry; his precise, restrained style holds an important place in 20th-century English-language poetry. He was reassessed and honored through awards such as the Bollingen Prize and praise from critics like Harold Bloom.
Archives
- Edgar Bowers Collection at the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library (Emory University)
- UCLA conference and exhibit in honor of Edgar Bowers (2003)
Quotes
-
The title poem of his 1990 collection announces his key loyalties. He confessed to celebrating every year the birthdays of three heroes: Pasteur, Mozart and Paul Valéry.
Source: Clive Wilmer (obituary/tribute) (2000) -
Bowers started with youthful stoicism, but the feeling is now governed by an increasing acceptance of the physical world. That 'physical world' encompasses sex and love which are refracted through his restrained and lapidary lines.
Source: Thom Gunn (blurb on the back of Collected Poems) (1997)
Trivia
- Served in U.S. counter-intelligence against Germany during World War II and was stationed at Berchtesgaden for a year.
- Won the Bollingen Prize in Poetry in 1989.
- Received two Guggenheim Fellowships (years unspecified).
- Collected Poems totals 168 pages.
- Taught for most of his career at UCSB and retired in 1991.
- For Louis Pasteur (1989) reflects his admiration for science and the life of the mind.
- Died of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma at his home in San Francisco on February 4, 2000; his companion James Davis died the day before.