Bollingen Prize for Poetry
1 appearances
-
Edition 50 (2017) Winner
Jean Valentine
ジーン・バレンタイン
Jīn Barentain
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1934-04-27 （Chicago, Illinois, U.S.）
- Died
- 2020-12-29 （New York City, U.S.） age 86
- Nationality
- American
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- New York City, U.S. (long-term residence)
Career
- Occupations
- Poet, Professor
- Active Years
- 1965-2020
- Affiliations
- New York University (Creative Writing faculty), Columbia University (teaching faculty), Sarah Lawrence College (faculty), Vermont College of Fine Arts (faculty), Drew University (Distinguished Poet-in-Residence)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Radcliffe College (Harvard University) | — | — | B.A. | — | United States |
| Radcliffe College (Harvard University) | — | — | M.A. | — | United States |
Radcliffe College (Harvard University)
Degree:
B.A.
Country:
United States
Received Bachelor of Arts at Radcliffe
Radcliffe College (Harvard University)
Degree:
M.A.
Country:
United States
Received Master of Arts at Radcliffe/Harvard
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | National Book Award for Poetry | Door in the Mountain: New and Collected Poems, 1965-2003 | — | National Book Foundation | Winner |
| 2011 | Pulitzer Prize for Poetry | Break the Glass | — | Pulitzer Prize | Finalist |
| 2017 | Bollingen Prize | — | — | Bollingen Prize Committee | Winner |
| 1976 | Guggenheim Fellowship | — | — | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation | Recipient |
| 1965 | Yale Series of Younger Poets | Dream Barker | — | Yale University Press | Winner |
| 1999 | Shelley Memorial Award | — | — | Poetry Society (Shelley Memorial Award) | Recipient |
| 1991 | Maurice English Poetry Award | — | — | — | Recipient |
| 1988 | Beatrice Hawley Award | Home Deep Blue: New and Selected Poems | — | — | Recipient |
| 1972 | NEA Literature Fellowship | — | — | National Endowment for the Arts | Recipient |
National Book Award for Poetry
2004
Work:
Door in the Mountain: New and Collected Poems, 1965-2003
Organization:
National Book Foundation
Result:
Winner
Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
2011
Work:
Break the Glass
Organization:
Pulitzer Prize
Result:
Finalist
Bollingen Prize
2017
Organization:
Bollingen Prize Committee
Result:
Winner
Guggenheim Fellowship
1976
Organization:
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result:
Recipient
Yale Series of Younger Poets
1965
Work:
Dream Barker
Organization:
Yale University Press
Result:
Winner
Shelley Memorial Award
1999
Organization:
Poetry Society (Shelley Memorial Award)
Result:
Recipient
Maurice English Poetry Award
1991
Result:
Recipient
Beatrice Hawley Award
1988
Work:
Home Deep Blue: New and Selected Poems
Result:
Recipient
NEA Literature Fellowship
1972
Organization:
National Endowment for the Arts
Result:
Recipient
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Dream Barker
1965 PoetryValentine's first book, selected for the Yale Series of Younger Poets; a collection of early poems.
memoryfragmentary images
The Messenger
1979 PoetryA mature collection exhibiting her concise, symbolic use of language.
silenceeveryday allegory
Home Deep Blue: New and Selected Poems
1989 PoetryA collection of new and selected poems summarizing her mid-career work.
inner landscapesnature and memory
The River at Wolf
1992 PoetryA collection quietly attending to nature and loss.
natureloss
Door in the Mountain: New and Collected Poems, 1965-2003
2004 Poetry (Collected)A representative collected volume of work from 1965–2003; winner of the 2004 National Book Award.
memory and timeeconomy of language
Little Boat
2007 PoetryA book of shorter sequences, linked by symbolic imagery.
journeysmall images
Break the Glass
2010 PoetryPublished in 2010; noted for how small details accrue power, and was a 2011 Pulitzer Prize finalist.
fragmentationpersonal memory
Shirt in Heaven
2015 PoetryA later collection exhibiting continued concise and careful diction.
transcendent imagerybody and spirituality
Bibliography
- Dream Barker (1965)
- Pilgrims (1969)
- Ordinary Things (1974)
- The Messenger (1979)
- Home Deep Blue: New and Selected Poems (1989)
- Night Lake (1992)
- The River at Wolf (1992)
- The Under Voice: Selected Poems (1995)
- Growing Darkness, Growing Light (1997)
- The Cradle of the Real Life (2000)
- Door in the Mountain: New and Collected Poems, 1965-2003 (2004)
- Little Boat (2007)
- Break the Glass (2010)
- Shirt in Heaven (2015)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Minimalist poeticssymbolic and fragmentary imageryconcise language that uses silence
- Recurring Motifs
- fragments of the everydaysilencememory and nature
Legacy
Jean Valentine was an important American poet known for concise, symbolic language, active from the 1960s through the 2010s. She received wide recognition including the 2004 National Book Award and served as Poet Laureate of New York, contributing to the promotion of poetry.
Archives
- Jean Valentine Papers (Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University)
Quotes
-
“This is a collection in which small details can accrue great power and a reader is never sure where any poem might lead.”
Source: Pulitzer Prize judges' commentary (on Break the Glass) (2011) -
“Rapturous, risky, shy of words but desperately true to them.”
Source: Seamus Heaney (poet), commentary
Trivia
- Married historian James Chace in 1957; divorced in 1968.
- Served as Poet Laureate of New York from 2008 to 2010.
- Published 14 collections of poetry during her life (1965–2015).
- Winner of the 2004 National Book Award for Poetry.