National Book Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 50 (1992) Achievement Award
James Laughlin
ジェームズ・ラフリン
James Laughlin
Pen Names:
Tasilo Ribischka（Pseudonym used in early anthology contribution）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1914-10-30 （Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.）
- Died
- 1997-11-12 （Norfolk, Connecticut, U.S.） age 83
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Pittsburgh (birthplace) → Norfolk, Connecticut → New York City (base for New Directions) → Rapallo, Italy (stayed with Ezra Pound) → Utah (involvement with Alta Ski Area)
Career
- Occupations
- publisher, poet
- Active Years
- 1936-1997
- Affiliations
- New Directions Publishing (founder), Alta Ski Area (co-founder/part-owner), Asia Society
- Influenced By
- Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein, William Carlos Williams
- Influenced
- Gary Snyder, Kenneth Rexroth, Modernist American writers and independent publishing
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Choate School (Choate Rosemary Hall) | — | — | — | 1920年代–1930年代（在籍） | United States |
| Harvard University | — | — | — | 1933–1936（中途休学あり） | United States |
The Choate School (Choate Rosemary Hall)
Period:
1920年代–1930年代（在籍）
Country:
United States
Showed early interest in literature; influenced by teacher Dudley Fitts.
Harvard University
Period:
1933–1936（中途休学あり）
Year of Graduation:
1936
Country:
United States
Matriculated 1933; stayed with Ezra Pound; used graduation gift to found New Directions.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Robert Frost Medal | — | — | Academy of American Poets | 受賞 |
| 1992 | Distinguished Contribution to American Letters (National Book Awards) | — | — | National Book Awards Program | 受賞 |
Robert Frost Medal
1990
Organization:
Academy of American Poets
Result:
受賞
Distinguished Contribution to American Letters (National Book Awards)
1992
Organization:
National Book Awards Program
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
The River
1938 PoetryEarly poetry collection reflecting youthful sensibilities and depictions of nature.
natureyouth
In Another Country
1979 PoetryMature poetry collection concerned with everyday observation, solitude, and retrospective perspective.
lonelinessmemoryeveryday life
Collected Poems of James Laughlin
1992 PoetryA collected volume compiling poems written over many years.
lifedeathfamily
Byways: A Memoir
2005 Memoir / Autobiographical poetryPosthumously published memoir-like work; contains recollections of personal life and publishing career.
recollectionpublishingfamily
Bibliography
- The River (1938)
- Some Natural Things (1945)
- In Another Country (1979)
- Selected Poems (1986)
- The House of Light (1986)
- Tabellae (1986)
- The Owl of Minerva (1987)
- Collemata / Pound As Wuz (1988)
- The Bird of Endless Time (1989)
- Collected Poems of James Laughlin (1992)
- Angelica (1992)
- The Man in the Wall (1993)
- The Country Road (1995)
- The Secret Room (1997)
- A Commonplace Book of Pentastichs (1998)
- Byways: A Memoir (2005)
- The Way It Wasn't: From the Files of James Laughlin (2006)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- plainspoken, colloquial styleconcise expression influenced by modernism
- Recurring Motifs
- nature and landscape (mountains, rivers)observations of everyday lifetravel and skiingrecollections about publishing and the literary world
Health
-
depression生涯にわたる断続的な罹患Had significant effects on personal life and family (including his son's suicide).
-
stroke (died of complications)1997年（死因に関連）Complications in 1997 led to his death.
Legacy
James Laughlin founded New Directions and made major contributions to introducing modernist and international literature to the United States. He is recognized both for his publishing achievements and his poetry; the Academy of American Poets' James Laughlin Award is named in his honor.
Academic Societies
- Academy of American Poets
Archives
- Yale University Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library (James Laughlin Papers)
Quotes
-
“None of this would have been possible without the industry of my ancestors, the canny Irishmen who immigrated in 1824 from County Down to Pittsburgh...”
Source: His own remark as cited in biographies and obituaries (e.g., New York Times obituary) (1997)
Trivia
- Founded New Directions Publishing using his graduation gift from Harvard.
- Published a poem under the pseudonym Tasilo Ribischka.
- New Directions' publication of Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha helped subsidize other less profitable but important books.
- The Academy of American Poets' James Laughlin Award is named after him.