| The Letters of Denise Levertov & William Carlos Williams Contributor(s): Levertov, Denise (Author), Macgowan, Christopher (Author), Williams, William Carlos (Author) |
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ISBN: 0811213927 ISBN-13: 9780811213929 Publisher: New Directions Publishing Corporation OUR PRICE: $22.46 Product Type: Hardcover Published: December 1998 Annotation: The Letters of Denise Levertov and William Carlos Williams is the most engaging and lively of literary correspondences - at once a portrait of two geniuses, the testimony of their remarkable friendship, and a seedbed of ideas about American poetry. With a 1951 fan letter, the young British poet introduced herself to Williams, and by 1959, Williams is congratulating Levertov on her growth. The letters also chronicle their search (individually and together) for a set of formal poetic principles, a search which culminated for Levertov in 1965, when she coined the term "organic form". The warmth, the directness, the flavorsome individuality of the letters - 34 from Levertov and 42 from Williams - increased with their growing intimacy and mutual regard. Always intriguing, their independent-minded letters, which end with the elder poet's death in 1962, have great piquancy and charm. Denise Levertov herself initiated this project, and was then, in the year before her death, "fascinated to read the exchange". This edition also includes the correspondence between Levertov and Williams's widow Florence. Professor Christopher MacGowan, the noted Williams scholar, contributes a superb introduction and informative annotations throughout. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Biography & Autobiography | Literary Figures - Biography & Autobiography | Historical |
| Dewey: B |
| LCCN: 98034194 |
| Lexile Measure: 1200 |
| Physical Information: 0.79" H x 5.73" W x 8.43" (0.83 lbs) 163 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 1950-1999 - Chronological Period - 20th Century |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: A celebration of the literary correspondence of Denise Levertov and William Carlos Williams - at once a portrait of two geniuses, the testimony of their remarkable friendship, and a seedbed of ideas about American poetry. This volume contains 33 letters from Levertov and 31 from Williams. |
Contributor Bio(s): Levertov, Denise: - Denise Levertov (1923-1997) was a British born American poet. She wrote and published 20 books of poetry, criticism, translations. She also edited several anthologies. Among her many awards and honors, she received the Shelley Memorial Award, the Robert Frost Medal, the Lenore Marshall Prize, the Lannan Award, a grant from the National Institute of Arts and Letters, and a Guggenheim Fellowship.Williams, William Carlos: - Besides being a practicing physician, William Carlos Williams (1883-1963) was a poet, short-story writer, novelist, translator, playwright, and essayist whose contribution to the development of modern American poetry grew out of his commitment to recording the "local" experience of Rutherford, New Jersey, and its environs. |