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Larry Levis

ラリー・レヴィス

Larry Levis

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1946-09-30 （Fresno, California）
Died
1996-05-08 （Richmond, Virginia） age 49
Nationality
American
Languages
English
Residence History
Selma, California → Fresno, California → Columbia, Missouri → Salt Lake City, Utah → Richmond, Virginia

Career

Occupations
Poet, Teacher, Professor
Active Years
1972-1996
Affiliations
University of Missouri (faculty), University of Utah (associate professor; director of Creative Writing Program), Virginia Commonwealth University (Senior Poet; Professor of English), Warren Wilson College MFA Program for Writers (visiting faculty)
Influenced By
Philip Levine, Donald Justice, Stanley Kunitz
Influenced
Later American poets and younger generations of poets, David St. John (friend, editor of posthumous volumes)

Education

Fresno State College (California State University, Fresno)
English / Creative Writing
Degree: BA
Period: 1964-1968
Year of Graduation: 1968
Country: United States
Studied with Philip Levine; completed many early poems that appeared in his first book.
Syracuse University
English / Creative Writing
Degree: MA
Period: 1969-1970
Year of Graduation: 1970
Country: United States
Studied under Donald Justice.
University of Iowa
English / Creative Writing
Degree: Ph.D.
Period: 1971-1974
Year of Graduation: 1974
Country: United States
Studied 20th-century Spanish poetry; worked with Ernesto Trejo.

Awards

U.S. Award of the International Poetry Forum
1971
Work: Wrecking Crew
Organization: International Poetry Forum
Result: 受賞
Lamont Poetry Selection
1976
Work: The Afterlife
Organization: Academy of American Poets
Result: 選出
National Poetry Series (Open Competition winner)
1981
Work: The Dollmaker's Ghost
Organization: National Poetry Series
Result: 受賞
YM-YWHA Discovery Award
Organization: YM-YWHA
Result: 受賞
National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship
Organization: National Endowment for the Arts
Result: フェローシップ（複数回）
Fulbright Fellowship / Lectureship
1988
Organization: Fulbright Program
Result: 選出・派遣（講師）
Guggenheim Fellowship
1982
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: フェローシップ

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Wrecking Crew

1972 Poetry

Early collection of poems rooted in farm labor, the lives of workers, memory and personal experience.

farms and vineyardslabormemory

The Afterlife

1977 Poetry

Mid-career collection including poems that deal with mortality, personal loss, and the search for self.

death and lossself-exploration

The Dollmaker's Ghost

1981 Poetry

Early-1980s collection noted for its narrative qualities and rich imagery.

memoryfamilyfantastic imagery

Winter Stars

1985 Poetry

A mature collection exploring coldness and light, loss and hope.

losslight and darkness

The Widening Spell of the Leaves

1991 Poetry

Collection where natural imagery intersects with personal history.

naturememory

Elegy

1997 Poetry

Posthumous volume of poems, edited with a foreword by Philip Levine.

deathremembrance

The Selected Levis

2000 Poetry (selected)

Selected poems edited posthumously by David St. John and others.

retrospectivepoetic trajectory

The Darkening Trapeze: Last Poems

2016 Poetry (posthumous)

Posthumous collection of previously unpublished poems that received critical acclaim.

endingthe light and dark of creation

Bibliography

  • Wrecking Crew (1972)
  • The Afterlife (1977)
  • The Dollmaker's Ghost (1981)
  • Winter Stars (1985)
  • The Widening Spell of the Leaves (1991)
  • Elegy (1997)
  • The Selected Levis (2000)
  • The Darkening Trapeze: Last Poems (2016)
  • The Gazer Within (2000, prose)
  • Black Freckles (1992, fiction)

Adaptations

  • A Late Style of Fire: Larry Levis, American Poet (documentary, 2016)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyrical, image-driven styledense, metaphor-rich poetic narration
Recurring Motifs
farm and vineyard landscapesdeath and lossmemory and reminiscence

Health

  • Depression
    生涯を通じて継続
    Affected his creative life and personal life; details of treatment unknown.
  • Alcohol abuse
    長期
    Had negative effects on personal life and health; reported to be related to circumstances of death.
  • Drug use (overdose)
    晩年まで
    Reportedly precipitated cardiac arrest leading to his death in 1996.

Legacy

An important figure in contemporary American poetry. In addition to works published during his lifetime, posthumous volumes were highly regarded. Virginia Commonwealth University established an annual prize in his name.

Archives

  • Larry Levis papers (Virginia Commonwealth University Archives)

In Popular Culture

  • Documentary film 'A Late Style of Fire' (2016)
  • Posthumous poems included in The Best American Poetry (2014, 2016)

Quotes

  • “He was such a central figure for so many American poets and that continues to be true.”
    Source: Gregory Donovan (co-producer of the documentary) (2016)

Trivia

  • Married three times; second wife was poet Marcia Southwick.
  • Son Nicholas Southwick Levis was born in 1978.
  • Died in 1996 at age 49 from cardiac arrest related to a drug overdose.
  • The Levis Reading Prize at Virginia Commonwealth University was established in his name.
  • Posthumous collections of previously unpublished poems received critical acclaim (e.g., The Darkening Trapeze).