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Peter Levitt

ピーター・レヴィット

Pītā Revitto

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1946-09-02 （New York City, United States）
Nationality
Canadian
Languages
English
Religion
Buddhism (Zen)
Residence History
New York City (birth) → Salt Spring Island, British Columbia (residence)

Career

Occupations
poet, translator, teacher
Active Years
1970-
Influenced By
Shunryu Suzuki-Roshi, Kazuaki Tanahashi, Robert Creeley
Influenced
English-language poets interested in Zen-influenced poetry

Awards

Lannan Foundation Literary Award (Poetry)
1989
Organization: Lannan Foundation
Result: winner
Canada Council for the Arts
2004
Organization: Canada Council for the Arts
Result: recipient

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Yin Mountain: The Immortal Poetry of Three Daoist Women (translated with Rebecca Nie)

2022 translation / poetry

An English translation and annotated collection of poetry by three Daoist women, co-translated with Rebecca Nie.

Daoismwomennature

Fingerpainting on the Moon: Writing and Creativity as a Path to Freedom

2003 essays / creativity

A collection of essays on the process of creativity and writing, offering practices to recover and cultivate creative expression.

creativitywritingself-exploration

The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan (translated with Kazuaki Tanahashi)

2018 translation / classical poetry

A definitive English collection of poems by the legendary Chinese hermit-poet Hanshan.

Zennaturehermitage

The Essential Dogen: Writings of the Great Zen Master (edited with Kazuaki Tanahashi)

2014 editorial / Zen writings

A curated and annotated anthology of key writings by Dogen for English-speaking readers.

DogenZen doctrinepractice

A Flock of Fools: Ancient Buddhist Tales of Wisdom and Laughter (translated and retold with Kazuaki Tanahashi)

2004 translation / tales

An English translation and retelling of ancient Buddhist tales, combining humor and moral insight.

Buddhismtaleshumor

Bibliography

  • Yin Mountain: The Immortal Poetry of Three Daoist Women (translated with Rebecca Nie)
  • Fingerpainting on the Moon: Writing and Creativity as a Path to Freedom
  • The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan (translated with Kazuaki Tanahashi)
  • The Essential Dogen: Writings of the Great Zen Master (edited with Kazuaki Tanahashi)
  • No Beginning, No End (edited)
  • A Flock of Fools: Ancient Buddhist Tales of Wisdom and Laughter (translated and retold with Kazuaki Tanahashi)
  • Within Within
  • Winter Still
  • One Hundred Butterflies
  • Bright Root Dark Root
  • The Heart of Understanding (edited)
  • Homage: Leda as Virgin
  • A Book of Light
  • Running Grass (Poems 1970-1977)
  • Two Bodies, Dark/Velvet
  • Poems

Adaptations

  • Participation in the anthology and film 'Poets Against the War'

Translations by Author

  • The Complete Cold Mountain (translated with Kazuaki Tanahashi)
  • Yin Mountain (translated with Rebecca Nie)
  • A Flock of Fools (translated and retold with Kazuaki Tanahashi)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Zen-influenced concise, meditative stylefree-verse and essayistic
Recurring Motifs
natureimpermanenceZen practicehumor and wisdom

Legacy

Peter Levitt is known as a bridge between Zen and poetry in the English-speaking world; his translations of Zen and Daoist texts and his work as a poet and teacher have influenced contemporary practice and understanding of Eastern religious literature among English readers.

In Popular Culture

  • Participation in the 'Poets Against the War' anthology and related film

Trivia

  • Emigrated to Canada in 2000 and later became a Canadian citizen.
  • Founder and teacher of the Salt Spring Zen Circle on Salt Spring Island.
  • Spouse is poet Shirley Graham.
  • Worked on and taught in the MFA Writers Program at Antioch University.