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Philip Levine

フィリップ・レヴィン

Philip Levine

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1928-01-10 (Detroit, Michigan, US)
Died
2015-02-14 (Fresno, California, US) age 87
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Judaism
Residence History
Detroit, Michigan, US → Brooklyn Heights, New York, US → Fresno, California, US

Career

Occupations
Poet, Professor
Active Years
1963-2015
Affiliations
California State University, Fresno (English Department), New York University (Distinguished Writer-in-Residence), Columbia University (visiting), Princeton University (visiting), Brown University (visiting), Tufts University (visiting), Vanderbilt University (visiting), University of California, Berkeley (visiting)
Influenced By
Robert Lowell, John Berryman
Influenced
Yusef Komunyakaa, Sharon Olds, Edward Hirsch

Education

Wayne State University
English
Degree: A.B. (BA)
Period: 1946–1950
Year of Graduation: 1950
Country: United States
Began writing poetry while a student
University of Iowa
Creative Writing/English
Degree: MFA
Period: 1953–1957
Year of Graduation: 1957
Country: United States
Studied with Robert Lowell and John Berryman; completed MFA

Awards

American Academy of Arts and Letters Award (Frank O'Hara Prize)
1973
Organization: American Academy of Arts and Letters
Result: 受賞
Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize
1977
Work: The Names of the Lost
Organization: Academy of American Poets
Result: 受賞
National Book Critics Circle Award
1979
Work: Ashes: Poems New and Old
Organization: National Book Critics Circle
Result: 受賞
National Book Award for Poetry
1980
Work: Ashes: Poems New and Old
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: 受賞
Levinson Prize
1981
Organization: Poetry magazine
Result: 受賞
Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize
1987
Organization: Modern Poetry Association / American Council for the Arts
Result: 受賞
National Book Award for Poetry
1991
Work: What Work Is
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: 受賞
Los Angeles Times Book Prize
1991
Work: What Work Is
Organization: Los Angeles Times
Result: 受賞
Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
1995
Work: The Simple Truth
Organization: Pulitzer Prize Board
Result: 受賞
Poet Laureate of the United States
2011
Organization: Library of Congress
Result: 任命
Wallace Stevens Award
2013
Organization: Academy of American Poets
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

On the Edge

1963 Poetry collection

Debut collection containing early poems about factory work and urban life.

workurban lifealienation

Ashes: Poems New and Old

1979 Poetry collection

A collection combining new and earlier poems; winner of major national awards.

memoryworkhistory

What Work Is

1992 Poetry collection

A signature collection exploring the lives of workers and the meaning of labor; recipient of the National Book Award.

workdignity of laborAmerican society

The Simple Truth

1994 Poetry collection

Published in 1994; the collection that earned him the Pulitzer Prize.

truthmemorywork

The Mercy

1999 Poetry collection

A more personal collection that includes poems dedicated to his mother.

familymemoryJewish heritage

Breath

2004 Poetry collection

A late-career collection addressing life, time, and personal reflection.

agingtimerecollection

News of the World

2009 Poetry collection

A late collection reflecting on contemporary society and the individual.

societyindividualmemory

The Last Shift

2016 Poetry collection (posthumous/edited)

Posthumous/edited collection containing late and previously unpublished poems.

late lifeworkmemory

Bibliography

  • On the Edge (1963)
  • Not This Pig (1968)
  • They Feed They Lion (1972)
  • 1933 (1974)
  • The Names of the Lost (1976)
  • Ashes: Poems New and Old (1979)
  • What Work Is (1992)
  • The Simple Truth (1994)
  • The Mercy (1999)
  • Breath (2004)
  • News of the World (2009)
  • The Last Shift (2016, ed. Edward Hirsch)

Adaptations

  • The Poetry of Jazz (album, 2018)
  • The Poetry of Jazz Volume Two (album, 2019)

Translations by Author

  • Off the Map: Selected Poems of Gloria Fuertes (edited and translated, 1984)
  • Tarumba: The Selected Poems of Jaime Sabines (edited and translated, 1979)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
direct, colloquial narrative voicefree verserhythms created by line breaks and extended clauses
Recurring Motifs
factories and assembly linesworking-class daily lifeimmigrant memory and Jewish heritagethe city (especially Detroit)

Health

  • Pancreatic cancer
    2014–2015
    Impaired health in his final years; led to his death in 2015

Legacy

Philip Levine established the working-class experience in American poetry, becoming a leading voice on labor and urban life. He received major national awards and served as U.S. Poet Laureate.

Academic Societies

  • Academy of American Poets (associated)

Archives

  • Library of Congress holdings (Philip Levine materials)
  • California State University, Fresno archives

In Popular Culture

  • Tributes and readings following his 2011 appointment as U.S. Poet Laureate and numerous literary awards

Quotes

  • "You write like an angel. Why don't you think about becoming a writer?"
    Source: Recollection of a high school teacher (biographical account)

Trivia

  • Born one of identical twins
  • Worked night shifts in auto factories from age 14
  • Appointed U.S. Poet Laureate for 2011–2012