Newbery Medal (John Newbery Medal)
1 appearances
-
Edition 45 (1966) Nominee
Randall Jarrell
ランドール・ジャレル
Randall Jarrell
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1914-05-06 （Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.）
- Died
- 1965-10-14 （Near Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S.） age 51
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Nashville, Tennessee (birth — student years) → Gambier, Ohio (Kenyon College) → Austin, Texas (University of Texas) → Bronxville, New York (Sarah Lawrence College) → Greensboro, North Carolina (long-term residence; UNC-G) → Washington, D.C. (temporary during Library of Congress consultance)
Career
- Occupations
- poet, literary critic, children's author, essayist, novelist, university teacher
- Active Years
- 1935-1965
- Affiliations
- Kenyon College (faculty), University of Texas at Austin (faculty), Sarah Lawrence College (faculty), University of North Carolina at Greensboro (faculty), University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign (visiting), United States Army Air Forces (service), Library of Congress (Consultant in Poetry)
- Memberships
- Phi Beta Kappa
- Influenced By
- W. H. Auden, William Wordsworth, Marcel Proust, Rainer Maria Rilke, Sigmund Freud, Karl Marx, Hannah Arendt (contemporary thinker, friend)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanderbilt University | College of Arts and Science | Department of English | BA | 1931–1935 | United States |
| Vanderbilt University | Graduate School (English) | Department of English | MA | 1935–1937 | United States |
Vanderbilt University
College of Arts and Science
/ Department of English
Degree:
BA
Period:
1931–1935
Year of Graduation:
1935
Country:
United States
Received B.A.; Phi Beta Kappa, graduated magna cum laude.
Vanderbilt University
Graduate School (English)
/ Department of English
Degree:
MA
Period:
1935–1937
Year of Graduation:
1937
Country:
United States
Received M.A.; began and completed thesis on A. E. Housman.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | Guggenheim Fellowship | — | — | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation | 受賞（1947–1948） |
| 1951 | Grant from the National Institute of Arts and Letters | — | — | National Institute of Arts and Letters | 助成 |
| 1961 | National Book Award (Poetry) | The Woman at the Washington Zoo | 詩 | National Book Foundation | 受賞 |
Guggenheim Fellowship
1947
Organization:
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result:
受賞（1947–1948）
Grant from the National Institute of Arts and Letters
1951
Organization:
National Institute of Arts and Letters
Result:
助成
National Book Award (Poetry)
1961
Work:
The Woman at the Washington Zoo
Category:
詩
Organization:
National Book Foundation
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
The Woman at the Washington Zoo
1960 Poetry collectionA poetry collection containing poems about middle-aged women, loneliness, war and everyday life. Marked Jarrell's mature voice and won the National Book Award in 1961.
lonelinessagingmemories of wareveryday character sketches
The Lost World
1965 Poetry collectionA late poetry collection with poems about loneliness, defense of the self, and intersubjectivity; regarded by many critics as some of his finest work.
lonelinessdefense of the selfintersubjectivitymemory
Pictures from an Institution
1954 Fiction (satire)A satirical novel drawing on his teaching experiences at Sarah Lawrence, portraying faculty and institutional life at a fictional college.
satire of academic institutionshuman relationshipsauthority and humor
The Animal Family
1965 Children's bookA children's book illustrated by Maurice Sendak about unconventional family, belonging, and acceptance.
familyacceptancenature and relationships
The Bat-Poet
1964 Children's bookA children's book illustrated by Maurice Sendak about a bat who loves poetry; a gentle fable about art and community.
art and isolationacceptancechildren's fable
Blood for a Stranger
1942 Poetry collectionAn early collection showing strong influence from W. H. Auden and establishing his early poetic voice.
warvoice of the young poet
Bibliography
- The Rage for the Lost Penny (in Five Young American Poets, 1940)
- Blood for a Stranger (poetry, 1942)
- Little Friend, Little Friend (poetry, 1945)
- Losses (poetry, 1948)
- The Seven-League Crutches (poetry, 1951)
- Selected Poems (1955)
- Pictures from an Institution (fiction, 1954)
- Poetry and the Age (essays, 1953)
- The Woman at the Washington Zoo (poetry, 1960)
- The Bat-Poet (children's book, 1964)
- The Animal Family (children's book, 1965)
- The Lost World (poetry, 1965)
- The Complete Poems (collected, 1969)
Translations by Author
- Translations of poems by Rainer Maria Rilke
- Anton Chekhov: The Three Sisters (translation)
- Goethe's Faust, Part I (translation begun in 1957; published 1976)
- Edited/translated Grimm fairy tales
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- poetic style that often mimics speech and conversation (mimesis)blend of Modernist and Romantic influenceswitty, rigorous prose style in criticism
- Recurring Motifs
- loneliness and alienationwar and military experiencechildren and childhoodaging and the voices of womenanimals and nature
Health
-
depression1963–1965（晩年）Significantly affected creative work and daily life; required hospitalization and treatment.
-
drug-induced mania (side effect of Elavil)1963（治療中）Experienced mania induced by prescribed medication; hospitalization and discontinuation of the drug were necessary.
-
suicide attempt (wrist slashing)1965（春）Contributed to ongoing mental instability and caused concern among acquaintances.
Legacy
Randall Jarrell was a major 20th-century American poet and an influential literary critic. Known for his war poems, children's books, and incisive criticism, he received recognition including the 1961 National Book Award. His influence as poet and critic has continued posthumously.
Museums
- Randall Jarrell historical marker (Hume-Fogg High School) Nashville, Tennessee — at Hume-Fogg High School Opened in 2004
- North Carolina Highway Historical Marker (near burial site) Near Greensboro, North Carolina
Academic Societies
- Phi Beta Kappa
Archives
- Randall Jarrell Papers (University of North Carolina at Greensboro)
- Randall Jarrell Papers (#1169-005), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University
- Library of Congress records
In Popular Culture
- Frequently featured in memorial collections and biographies by contemporaneous poets
- Known in children's literature contexts for illustrations by Maurice Sendak
Quotes
-
He was 'the most heartbreaking poet of our time' and had written 'the best poetry in English about the Second World War.'
Source: Robert Lowell, quoted in coverage of Jarrell's memorial at Yale (The New York Times, 1966) (1966)
Trivia
- Served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II; wartime experience influenced much of his poetry.
- Won the 1961 National Book Award for Poetry for The Woman at the Washington Zoo (published 1960).
- Children's books such as The Animal Family and The Bat-Poet were illustrated by Maurice Sendak.
- Died after being struck by a car in 1965; whether the death was accidental or suicide has been the subject of debate.