Denise Levertov (24 October, 1923 – 20 December, 1997) was an award-winning American poet, born in England.
By Elsa Dorfman – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28203067
Books by Denise Levertov*
Fun Facts about Denise Levertov:
1. Priscilla Denise Levertov was born in Ilford, Essex in England. Her father, Paul Levertoff, was a teacher Leipzig University, and, as a Russian Hassidic Jew, has emigrated to England after being held as an “enemy alien” during World War I. Her mother, Beatrice Adelaide was born in North Wales.
2. Paul Levertoff converted to Christianity and became an Anglican priest. He was posted in Ilford under the impression that he would preach to the Jews who lived there.
3. Denise Levertov was home-schooled. She loved to writer and dance ballet. Her writings about growing up in a Christian home, part Jewish, German, Welsh and English indicated she didn’t feel like she belonged anywhere.
4. Ms. Levertov knew she was going to be a writer at an early age. She sent poems to T. S. Eliot, who responded with a long letter of encouraging her. She published her first poem at the age of 17, during the Blitz. Her first book, The Double Image, was published in 1946.
5. In 1947 Denise Levertov married Mitchell Goodman, an American writer, and moved to the New York City a year later. The couple divorced in 1975, but had a son, Nikolai.
6. During the Vietnam War, Ms. Levertov became politically active and focused her poetry on her ideology.
7. During the 1960s, she started to develop her own style of poetry and felt that, as a poet, it was her job to point out injustices.
8. Denise Levertov found her place in academia. Living in Massachusetts she taught at several universities in the state. She moved to Seattle in the 1980s.
9. Ms. Levertov suffered from lymphoma, but continued to lecture, and participate in conferences. She passed away from the disease in 1977, and is buried in Seattle.
10. Denise Levertov published 24 poetry books, translations, and criticisms. She was also an editors and received many awards including the Shelley Memorial Award, and the Robert Frost Medal.
Zohar – Man of la Book
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Sources:
Denise Levertov | The Poetry Foundation
Lives of a Poet: Denise Levertov | The Hudson Review
About Denise Levertov | Academy of American Poets
