Ambassador Book Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 18 (2003) Winner
Marie Ponsot
マリー・ポンソ
Marie Ponsot
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1921-04-06 （Brooklyn, New York, U.S.）
- Died
- 2019-07-05 （Manhattan, New York, U.S.） age 98
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- New York City (Brooklyn, Jamaica, Manhattan) → Paris (about three years)
Career
- Occupations
- poet, literary critic, essayist, teacher, translator
- Active Years
- 1956-2019
- Affiliations
- 92nd Street Y (Poetry Center), New York University, Columbia University, Queens College (English professor, retired 1991), YMCA, Beijing United University
- Memberships
- Academy of American Poets (chancellor 2010–2014)
- Influenced By
- Lawrence Ferlinghetti
- Influenced
- Marilyn Hacker, Sapphire, Samuel R. Delany
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Joseph's College for Women (Brooklyn) | — | English / English Literature | BA | — | United States |
| Columbia University | — | Seventeenth-century literature (graduate) | MA | — | United States |
St. Joseph's College for Women (Brooklyn)
English / English Literature
Degree:
BA
Country:
United States
Bachelor's degree (exact graduation year unknown)
Columbia University
Seventeenth-century literature (graduate)
Degree:
MA
Country:
United States
Earned a master's degree in seventeenth-century literature
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | National Book Critics Circle Award | The Bird Catcher | — | National Book Critics Circle | 受賞 |
| — | Delmore Schwartz Memorial Prize | — | — | Delmore Schwartz Prize committee | 受賞 |
| — | Robert Frost Poetry Award | — | — | Robert Frost award committee | 受賞 |
| — | Shaughnessy Medal (Modern Language Association) | — | — | Modern Language Association | 受賞 |
| 2013 | Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize | — | — | Poetry Foundation | 受賞 |
| 2015 | Aiken Taylor Award for Modern American Poetry | — | — | Sewanee (award committee) | 受賞 |
| — | National Endowment for the Arts creative writing grant | — | — | National Endowment for the Arts | 受給 |
| 1999 | Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize (finalist) | The Bird Catcher | — | Longlist/Prize committee | ファイナリスト |
National Book Critics Circle Award
Work:
The Bird Catcher
Organization:
National Book Critics Circle
Result:
受賞
Delmore Schwartz Memorial Prize
Organization:
Delmore Schwartz Prize committee
Result:
受賞
Robert Frost Poetry Award
Organization:
Robert Frost award committee
Result:
受賞
Shaughnessy Medal (Modern Language Association)
Organization:
Modern Language Association
Result:
受賞
Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize
2013
Organization:
Poetry Foundation
Result:
受賞
Aiken Taylor Award for Modern American Poetry
2015
Organization:
Sewanee (award committee)
Result:
受賞
National Endowment for the Arts creative writing grant
Organization:
National Endowment for the Arts
Result:
受給
Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize (finalist)
1999
Work:
The Bird Catcher
Organization:
Longlist/Prize committee
Result:
ファイナリスト
Awards & Nominations
Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 28 (2013) Winner
Aiken Taylor Award for Modern American Poetry
1 appearances
-
Edition 28 (2015) Winner
Works
Major Works
True Minds
1956 PoetryEarly collection of poems notable for clarity and colloquial voice.
selfeveryday lifethe sense of language
Admit Impediment
1981 PoetryA mature collection showing personal and familial themes.
familyloveseparation
The Green Dark
1988 PoetryA mid-career collection rich in metaphor and image.
naturememory
The Bird Catcher
1998 PoetryOne of her notable later collections, blending everyday observation with poetic insight.
everyday lifeobservationaging
Springing: New and Selected Poems
2002 Poetry / Selected poemsA selected volume combining new work and highlights from her career; noted by The New York Times Book Review.
retrospectgrowth
Easy: Poems
2009 PoetryA collection with an accessible voice; celebrated with tribute events at publication.
everyday lifeintimacy
Collected Poems
2016 Poetry (Collected)A collected edition summarizing decades of work.
overviewretrospect
Bibliography
- True Minds (1956)
- Admit Impediment (1981)
- The Green Dark (1988)
- The Bird Catcher (1998)
- Springing: New and Selected Poems (2002)
- Easy: Poems (2009)
- Collected Poems (2016)
- Beat Not the Poor Desk (with Rosemary Deen, 1982)
- The Common Sense (with Rosemary Deen, 1985)
Translations by Author
- Love & Folly: Selected Fables and Tales of LaFontaine (translator, 2002)
- The Fairy Tale Book: selection including Andersen (translator, 1958)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- clear, colloquial rhythmsconcise voice grounded in metaphor and observation
- Recurring Motifs
- familyeveryday observationlove and separationage and memory
Legacy
One of the major American women poets active from the late 20th to early 21st century. Also influential as a teacher and translator, she mentored younger poets. Winner of major honors including the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize; praised for craft and depiction of the everyday.
Academic Societies
- Academy of American Poets
Archives
- Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library (Emory University) — Marie Ponsot papers, 1931–2014
In Popular Culture
- Tributes and essays were presented at events celebrating the 2009 publication of Easy.
Quotes
-
She is one of the major poets of her generation.
Source: Marilyn Hacker (The Women's Review of Books, tribute) (2003)
Trivia
- Raised seven children (became sole caregiver after divorce).
- Lived in Paris for about three years after World War II and was married there.
- Translated some 69 children's books from French, including selections of La Fontaine.
- Served as Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets from 2010 to 2014.