In june 1965, to protest the escalation of the vietnam war and the sending of american troops to the dominican republic, robert lowell declined an invitation to lyndon b. In imitations, a collection of poetic translations published in 1961, lowell acts in the role of the writers of various languages translation and ethical empathy. As such the papers include heavily revised drafts of manuscripts, galleys, and page proofs for notebook 1970, the dolphin 1973, for lizzie and harriet 1973, history 1973, and day by day 1977. Polyphony in robert lowells poetry journal of american. Letters to frank bidart were purchased from bidart, 1977. He was born into a boston brahmin family that could trace its origins back to the mayflower. That question begs in kay redfield jamisons study of imagination and manicdepressive illness, which she instructs is not a biography but a psychological account of the life and mind of robert lowell.
Moving chronologically from homer to pasternakand including such master poets en route as baudelaire, rimbaud, rilke, and. Lowell followed life studies with imitations 1961, a volume of loose translations of poems by classical and modern european poets, including rilke. Bibliography robert lowell, selected poems, faber 1965. With life studies, his third book, he found the intense, highly personal voice that made him the foremost american poet of his generation. Pdf the present article analyzes the overt translation strategies in robert lowells imitations and ezra pounds the cantos, indicating the conscious. Robert traill spence lowell iv was an american poet. Amy lowell i6598, 18741925, see above, her greatgrandfather and robert lowells greatgreatgrandfather were stepbrothers both were sons of hon. Robert lowell said in 1960, two poetries are now competing, a cooked and a raw, and that formulation reverberates in discussions of poetry to this day. Switching with baffling ease from the otherworldly puritanic gloom shrouding his recreation of his new england ancestors. Imitations by robert lowell book 86 editions published between 1958 and 1995 in english and undetermined and held by 1,486 worldcat member libraries. Robert lowell life studies university of leicester.
Overt translation strategies in the histories of robert lowell and ezra pound anthony pym published as resistant translation strategies in robert lowell s imitations and ezra pounds cantos, crosswords. Not quite translationsyet something much more, much richer, than mere tributes to their original versionsthe poems in imitations reflect lowells conceptual. Also present are an early notebook, manuscripts for a few earlier works such as. Not quite translationsyet something much more, much richer, than mere tributes to their original versionsthe poems in imitations reflect lowells conceptual, historical, literary, and aesthetic engagements with a diverse range of voices from the western canon. Johnsons white house festival of the arts in a public statement that was covered on the front page of the new york times in august it was reported that lbj met with. He is also a playwright and the author of a book of imitations. He held strong, complex and very public political views. He attended harvard college for two years before transferring to kenyon college, where he studied poetry under john crowe ransom and received an undergraduate degree in 1940. Apr 10, 2017 here, jacob bacharach revisits robert lowells poem beyond the alps. S poet laureate, winner of the 1960 national book award. The illness and insight of robert lowell the new yorker. Not quite translationsyet something much more, much richer, than mere tributes to their original versionsthe poems in imitations reflect lowell s conceptual, historical, literary, and aesthetic engagements with a diverse range of voices from the western canon.
A new book is the first to bring clinical expertise to the poets case. For the union dead by robert lowell poetry foundation. The voyage by baudelaire and, perhaps most notably, a collection of poems called imitations, which contains loose versions of the works of various. Most critics including helen vendler, steven gould axelrod, adam kirsch, and others consider it one of lowells most important books, and the academy of american poets named it one of their groundbreaking books. That this poet is named frank bidart does not distract from lowells achievement.
Robert lowell1917 1977 robert traill spence lowell iv march 1, 1917 september 12, 1977 was an american poet, considered the founder of the confessional poetry movement. He is generally considered to be among the greatest american poets of the twentieth century. Lowell was manicdepressive, and it was incredible to me how he managed to work, a prolific poet and teacher, despite having to be hospitalized almost every year with mania and delusion. Lowell, who has used materials from other writers, all the way from homer and pasternak, has produced a volume of verse which consists of variations on themes provided by these other poets and which is really an original sequence by robert lowell of boston. To learn about our use of cookies and how you can manage your cookie settings, please see our cookie policy. Imitations pa by lowell, robert and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Robert traill spence lowell iv march 1, 1917 september 12, 1977 was an american poet, considered the founder of the confessional poetry movement. Collected poems by robert lowell pdf free download ebook. For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or. Oct 15, 1984 robert lowell, born robert traill spence lowell, iv, was an american poet whose works, confessional in nature, engaged with the questions of history and probed the dark recesses of the self. Amy lowell i6598, 18741925, see above, her greatgrandfather and robert lowell s greatgreatgrandfather were stepbrothers both were sons of hon. I think i must have first read robert lowells poem beyond the alps the summer before my junior year of high school, when i was at the young writers workshop at the university of virginia. Lowells life studies imitations thus represent an attempt to coverup poetic. This material was previously on deposit at the houghton library, 19882018, with the accession number 88m73.
Overt translation strategies in the histories of robert. Robert lowells own reaction, we will see, was quite different. Moving chronologically from homer to pasternakand including such master poets en route as baudelaire, rimbaud, rilke, and montale. Robert lowell papers hollis for archival discovery. Robert lowell 19171977 packed a huge amount into his sixty years. March 1, 1917 september 12, 1977 was an american poet. Imitations is, so far as i know, the only book of its kind in literature. Although that poem falls outside the scope of this study, it stands for the reasons which leavis gives beside skunk hour as one of the great poems of any century. Not quite translationsyet something much more, much richer, than mere tributes to their original versionsthe poems in imitations reflect lowells concept.
Born in 1917 into an aristocratic boston family robert lowell was not yet thirty when his first major collection of poems, lord wearys castle, won the pulitzer prize. Life studies by robert lowell life studies is the fourth book of poems by robert lowell. On march 1, 1917, robert lowell was born into one of bostons oldest and most prominent families. The poems of robert lowell by lowell, robert, 18161891. Her interest lies in the entanglement of art, character, mood, and intellect. Pdf robert lowell collected poems download full pdf book. Whether lowell was or was not in fact a translator, and if a translator how good a one, are not strictly speaking the. A central problem of robert lowells history 1973, one that helps ex plain his use of imitations derived from horace, dante, baudelaire, rim baud, and other. To these ends, i will examine robert lowell s book of translation entitled imitations as a case study.
In the 1940s he wrote intricate and tightly patterned poems that incorporated traditional meter and rhyme. River on fire explores genius, madness and the poetry of. He was appointed the sixth poet laureate consultant in poetry to the library of congress where he served from 1947 until 1948. Download pdf robert lowell collected poems book full free. His family, past and present, were important subjects in his poetry. Revisited is a series in which writers look back on a work of art they first encountered long ago.
Pdf overt translation strategies in the histories of robert. Robert lowell collected poems available for download and read online in other formats. Although not always successful, robert lowell s imitations offers us the best set of translations of european poets in practically a decade. Elizabeth bishop and robert lowell, words in air, pp. He studied at harvard university and kenyon college. The tryingout of robert lowell by richard fein in the direct and honest introduction to his original collection, imi tations, robert lowell asks us first to read the book as one voice, and no less than six times in the three pages of the introduction and ac knowledgments does he inform us of his recklessness, his license, and.
Collected prose, edited and introduced by robert giroux, farrar, straus. Robert lowell article about robert lowell by the free. Robert lowell poems, quotations and biography on robert lowell poet page. I enjoy this genre a lot, the literary biography, and this one seemed to do a good job of describing the life, times and poetry of robert lowell. Mar 01, 2017 robert lowell, setting the river on fire a study of genius, mania, and character by kay redfield jamison illustrated. Essays and criticism on robert lowell lowell, robert vol. Overt translation strategies in the histories of robert lowell and ezra pound anthony pym published as resistant translation strategies in robert lowells imitations and ezra pounds cantos, crosswords. Imitations by lowell, robert by lowell, robert lowell, robert on. The last few decades of robert lowell criticism have been marked by an accumulated awareness that, in spite of the rigorous new critical apprenticeship of his early years, lowells poetry has all along manifested a deep complicity with history both past and present. A modernist at heart, writing in the wake of the polyglot tradition firmly established in the first half of the twentieth century by joyces operatic babels and pounds symphonic cantos, robert lowell was a poet who spoke in many voices, a master of linguistic personae. Evaluations of student compositions were a gift of william alfred, 1978. Here, jacob bacharach revisits robert lowells poem beyond the alps. He was recognised as an accomplished poet in his own lifetime, and along with elizabeth bishop, john berryman and sylvia plath he created the fashion and generated the force of american poetry over the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. It should be added that in 1964 robert lowell wrote an ode for the union dead.
Purchased with funds from the amy lowell trust, 2019. Read all poems of robert lowell and infos about robert lowell. Not quite translationsyet something much more, much richer, than mere. He took graduate courses at louisiana state university where he studied with robert penn warren and cleanth brooks. Start your 48hour free trial to unlock this robert lowell.
Robert lowell reading his own poems sound recording of twentiethcentury poetry in english series, library of congress, 1978. He is best known for his volume life studies 1959, but his true greatness as an american poet lies in the astonishing variety of his work. Not quite translations yet something much, much richer, than mere tributes to their original versions the poems in imitations reflect lowell s conceptual, historical, literary, and aesthetic engagements with a diverse range of voices from the western canon moving chronologically from homer to pasternak and including such master poets en route as baudelaire, rimbaunot quite translations yet. Skunk hour by robert lowell academy of american poets. Meanwhile he also produced a volume of translations he called imitations and. Pdf overt translation strategies in the histories of. More robert lowell sign up for poemaday receive a new poem in your inbox daily.
Growing up in boston also informed his poems, which were frequently set in boston and the new england region. Robert lowell 191777 was the renowned and controversial author of many books of poetry, including day by day fsg, 1977, for the union dead fsg, 1964, and life studies fsg, 1959. To these ends, i will examine robert lowells book of translation entitled imitations as a case study. Lowell followed life studies with imitations 1961, a volume of loose translations of poems. River on fire explores genius, madness and the poetry of robert lowell kay redfield jamisons new book describes how lowells manicdepressive illness influenced his. Issues and debates in literary and nonliterary translating, ed.
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