1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910822382203321

Autore

Hollenberg Donna Krolik

Titolo

A poet's revolution [[electronic resource] ] : the life of Denise Levertov / / Donna Krolik Hollenberg

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Berkeley, : University of California Press, 2013

ISBN

0-520-95478-5

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (532 p.)

Disciplina

811/.54

B

Soggetti

Poets, American - 20th century

Jewish Christians

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Listening to distant guns (1923-1948). "The walls of the garden, the first light": beginnings (1923-1933); "When Anna screamed": Levertov's response to Nazi oppression (1933-1939); The double image: apprenticeship during World War Two (1939-1946); "Recoveries": abortion, adventure, and marriage (1947- 48) -- A common ground (1949-1966). "Dancing edgeways": coming of age as a poet in the new world (1949-1955); "The true artist": Levertov's engagement with tradition (1954-1960) -- "The poem ascends": taking a position (1960-1963) -- "To speak of sorrow": Levertov's emergence as a social poet (1963?1966) -- Life at war (1966-74). "Revolution or death": living in the movement (1966-1970); "The freeing of the dust": the revolution hits home (1970-1974) -- Sleepers awake (1975-1988). "A woman alone": beginning again (1975-1981); "Writing in the dark": social protest and liberation theology (1982-1988) -- Resettling (1989-1997). "Of shadow and flame": the re-cognition of identity (1989-1992); "Beauty growls in the fertile dark": facing death (1992-1997).

Sommario/riassunto

This first full-length biography of Anglo- American poet and activist Denise Levertov (1923-1997) brings to life one of the major voices of the second half of the twentieth century, when American poetry was a powerful influence worldwide. Drawing on exhaustive archival research and interviews with 75 friends of Levertov, as well as on Levertov's entire opus, Donna Krolik Hollenberg's authoritative biography captures



the full complexity of Levertov as both woman and artist, and the dynamic world she inhabited. She charts Levertov's early life in England as the daughter of a Russian Hasidic father and a Welsh mother, her experience as a nurse in London during WWII, her marriage to an American after the war, and her move to New York City where she became a major figure in the American poetry scene. The author chronicles Levertov's role as a passionate social activist in volatile times and her importance as a teacher of writing. Finally, Hollenberg shows how the spiritual dimension of Levertov's poetry deepened toward the end of her life, so that her final volumes link lyric perception with political and religious commitment.