World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Allen Turner Cassity

アレン・ターナー・キャシティ

Allen Turner Cassity

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1929-01-12 (Jackson, Mississippi, U.S.)
Died
2009-07-26 (Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.) age 80
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Jackson, Mississippi → Forest, Mississippi → Atlanta, Georgia

Career

Occupations
Poet, Playwright, Short story writer, Librarian, Poetry teacher
Active Years
1950-2009
Affiliations
Emory University (Robert W. Woodruff Library)

Education

Millsaps College
Country: United States
Stanford University
Degree: 修士
Country: United States
Earned a master's degree
Columbia University
Country: United States
Attended on the GI Bill

Awards

Georgia Author of the Year Award
Organization: Georgia Writers Association
Result: 受賞
Levinson Prize for Poetry
Work: Devils & Islands
Result: 受賞
Michael Braude Award
Organization: American Academy of Arts and Letters
Result: 受賞
Ingram Merrill Foundation Award
Organization: Ingram Merrill Foundation
Result: 受賞
National Endowment for the Arts Grant
Organization: National Endowment for the Arts
Result: 助成

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Watchboy, What of the Night?

1966 Poetry

An early collection of poems that explores cityscapes and memory.

memoryurban life

Steeplejacks in Babel

1973 Poetry

A collection thematically concerned with language and confusion.

languageconfusion

Yellow for Peril, Black for Beautiful

1975 Poetry

A poetry collection that uses satire and vivid imagery.

satireimagery

Hurricane Lamp

1986 Poetry

A mature collection that includes themes of islands and the sea.

seaislandsmaturity

Between the Chains

1991 Poetry

A volume containing poems that deal with relationships and constraints.

relationshipsconstraints

The Destructive Element: New and Selected Poems

1998 Poetry (new and selected)

A collection of new and selected poems showcasing the poet's range.

retrospectvariety

Devils & Islands

2007 Poetry

A later collection that examines isolated islands and darker human themes; cited as the work for which he received the Levinson Prize.

isolationhuman nature

No Second Eden

2002 Poetry

A collection addressing themes of loss and renewal.

lossrenewal

Bibliography

  • Watchboy, What of the Night? (1966)
  • Steeplejacks in Babel (1973)
  • Yellow for Peril, Black for Beautiful (1975)
  • The Defense of the Sugar Islands: a recruiting poster (1979)
  • Phaëthon unter den Linden (1979)
  • Keys to Mayerling (1983)
  • The Airship Boys in Africa (1984)
  • Hurricane Lamp (1986)
  • Lessons (1987)
  • To the Lost City, or, the Sins of Nineveh (1989)
  • Between the Chains (1991)
  • The Destructive Element: New and Selected Poems (1998)
  • No Second Eden (2002)
  • Devils & Islands (2007)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Attentive to traditional poetic formsWitty narrative voicePrecise imagery and satire
Recurring Motifs
islands and the seahistorical and geographical imageryhuman flaws and redemption

Legacy

Turner Cassity, a poet from the American South, worked for many years at Emory University's library while continuing to write. He was praised for his formal sensitivity and wit and received several awards. His papers are held at Emory University.

Archives

  • Emory University Manuscripts, Archives, and Rare Book Library (MARBL)

Trivia

  • Drafted and stationed in Puerto Rico from 1952 to 1954.
  • Worked at Emory University's Robert W. Woodruff Library from 1962 to 1991.
  • Papers are held at Emory University.
  • Buried in Forest, Mississippi.