Edward Reed Whittemore, Jr. (September 11, 1919 – April 6, 2012[1]) was an American poet, biographer, critic, literary journalist and college professor. He was appointed the sixteenth and later the twenty-eighth Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1964, and in 1984.[2]
Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Whittemore attended Phillips Academy and received a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University in 1941. As a sophomore at Yale, he and his roommate James Angleton started a literary magazine called Furioso which became one of the most famous "little magazines" of its day and published many notable poets including Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams. "It was the ne plus ultra of little magazines" according to Victor Navasky. The magazine was published intermittently until 1953. After service in the Army, he published his first volume of poetry in 1946. From 1947 to 1966, he was a professor of English at Carleton College. While at Carleton he renewed his magazine under the name the Carleton Miscellany and published many first-time poets such as Charles Wright. He taught at the University of Maryland College Park until 1984.
His poetry is notable for its wry and deflating humor. The poet X.J. Kennedy remarked that "his whole career has been one brave protest against dullness and stodginess." His book The Mother's Breast and the Father's House was a finalist for the National Book Award for poetry. He is the recipient of the National Council on the Arts Award for lifelong contribution to American Letters and the Award of Merit Medal from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
The poet James Dickey wrote of Reed in Poetry magazine that, “as a poet with certain very obvious and amusing gifts, he is almost everyone’s favorite. Certainly he is one of mine. Yet there are dangerous favorites and inconsequential favorites and favorites like pleasant diseases. What of Whittemore? He is as wittily cultural as they come, he has read more than any . . . man anybody knows, has been at all kinds of places, yet shuffles along in an old pair of tennis shoes and khaki pants, with his hands in his pockets.”
In November 2007 Dryad Press published his memoir, Against The Grain: The Literary Life of a Poet, with an introduction by Garrison Keillor who took a class from him in his youth calling him a "movie-star handsome poet and teacher" who "owns the only sort of immortality that matters to a writer, which is to have written things that people remember years later . . . What makes R.W. permanently readable and relevant is his wit and humor, which is the underground spring that keeps the gardens of American literature green.
Always self-effacing, Whittemore describes himself at 21 in his memoir: "He was nearsighted but wore no glasses. He had a medium-grade mind and managed to mix intellectual modesty with sudden arrogance. . . . He preferred to think of himself as a genuine rebel yet couldn't help being polite."
He was married to Helen Lundeen and had four children: Cate, Ned, Jack, and Daisy.
Bibliographyedit
Poetry
Heroes & Heroines (1946)
An American Takes a Walk (1956)
The Self-Made Man (1959)
The Boy from Iowa (1962)
Poems, New and Selected (1967)
Fifty Poems Fifty (1970)
The Mother's Breast and the Father's House (1974)
The Feel of Rock: Poems of Three Decades (1982)
The Past, the Future, the Present: Poems Selected and New (1990)
Ten from Ten & One More (2007)
The Season of Waiting: Selected Poems: 1946-2006 (Hebrew trans by Moseh Dor) (2007)
Prose
The Little Magazine and Contemporary Literature (1966)
From Zero to Absolute (1967)
The Fascination of the Abomination: Poems, stories, essays (1963)
William Carlos Williams: Poet from Jersey (1975)
The Poet as Journalist: Life at the New Republic (1976)
Pure Lives: The Early Biographers (1988)
Whole Lives: Shapers of Modern Biography (1989)
Six Literary Lives (1993)
Against The Grain: The Literary Life of a Poet, a Memoir by Reed Whittemore (2007)
Referencesedit
^Adam Bernstein (April 10, 2012). "Reed Whittemore, former poet laureate, dies at 92". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
^"Poet Laureate Timeline: 1953-1960". Library of Congress. 2008. Retrieved December 19, 2008.
External linksedit
Reed Whittemore biography at Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2 Aug 2013.
reed, whittemore, edward, september, 1919, april, 2012, american, poet, biographer, critic, literary, journalist, college, professor, appointed, sixteenth, later, twenty, eighth, poet, laureate, consultant, poetry, library, congress, 1964, 1984, bornedward, 19. Edward Reed Whittemore Jr September 11 1919 April 6 2012 1 was an American poet biographer critic literary journalist and college professor He was appointed the sixteenth and later the twenty eighth Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1964 and in 1984 2 Reed WhittemoreBornEdward Reed Whittemore Jr 1919 09 11 September 11 1919New Haven Connecticut USADiedApril 6 2012 2012 04 06 aged 92 OccupationPoetNationalityAmericanAlma materYale University Contents 1 Biography 2 Bibliography 3 References 4 External linksBiography editBorn in New Haven Connecticut Whittemore attended Phillips Academy and received a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University in 1941 As a sophomore at Yale he and his roommate James Angleton started a literary magazine called Furioso which became one of the most famous little magazines of its day and published many notable poets including Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams It was the ne plus ultra of little magazines according to Victor Navasky The magazine was published intermittently until 1953 After service in the Army he published his first volume of poetry in 1946 From 1947 to 1966 he was a professor of English at Carleton College While at Carleton he renewed his magazine under the name the Carleton Miscellany and published many first time poets such as Charles Wright He taught at the University of Maryland College Park until 1984 Whittemore was Poet Laureate of Maryland and twice served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress His poetry is notable for its wry and deflating humor The poet X J Kennedy remarked that his whole career has been one brave protest against dullness and stodginess His book The Mother s Breast and the Father s House was a finalist for the National Book Award for poetry He is the recipient of the National Council on the Arts Award for lifelong contribution to American Letters and the Award of Merit Medal from the American Academy of Arts and Letters The poet James Dickey wrote of Reed in Poetry magazine that as a poet with certain very obvious and amusing gifts he is almost everyone s favorite Certainly he is one of mine Yet there are dangerous favorites and inconsequential favorites and favorites like pleasant diseases What of Whittemore He is as wittily cultural as they come he has read more than any man anybody knows has been at all kinds of places yet shuffles along in an old pair of tennis shoes and khaki pants with his hands in his pockets In November 2007 Dryad Press published his memoir Against The Grain The Literary Life of a Poet with an introduction by Garrison Keillor who took a class from him in his youth calling him a movie star handsome poet and teacher who owns the only sort of immortality that matters to a writer which is to have written things that people remember years later What makes R W permanently readable and relevant is his wit and humor which is the underground spring that keeps the gardens of American literature green Always self effacing Whittemore describes himself at 21 in his memoir He was nearsighted but wore no glasses He had a medium grade mind and managed to mix intellectual modesty with sudden arrogance He preferred to think of himself as a genuine rebel yet couldn t help being polite He was married to Helen Lundeen and had four children Cate Ned Jack and Daisy Bibliography editPoetry Heroes amp Heroines 1946 An American Takes a Walk 1956 The Self Made Man 1959 The Boy from Iowa 1962 Poems New and Selected 1967 Fifty Poems Fifty 1970 The Mother s Breast and the Father s House 1974 The Feel of Rock Poems of Three Decades 1982 The Past the Future the Present Poems Selected and New 1990 Ten from Ten amp One More 2007 The Season of Waiting Selected Poems 1946 2006 Hebrew trans by Moseh Dor 2007 Prose The Little Magazine and Contemporary Literature 1966 From Zero to Absolute 1967 The Fascination of the Abomination Poems stories essays 1963 William Carlos Williams Poet from Jersey 1975 The Poet as Journalist Life at the New Republic 1976 Pure Lives The Early Biographers 1988 Whole Lives Shapers of Modern Biography 1989 Six Literary Lives 1993 Against The Grain The Literary Life of a Poet a Memoir by Reed Whittemore 2007 References edit Adam Bernstein April 10 2012 Reed Whittemore former poet laureate dies at 92 The Washington Post Retrieved April 11 2012 Poet Laureate Timeline 1953 1960 Library of Congress 2008 Retrieved December 19 2008 External links editReed Whittemore biography at Encyclopaedia Britannica Retrieved 2 Aug 2013 Reed Whittemore papers at the University of Maryland Libraries Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Reed Whittemore amp oldid 1179860789, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
