David Ignatow (February 7, 1914 – November 17, 1997) was an American poet and editor.

Life

David Ignatow was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

on February 7, 1914, and spent most of his life in the New York City area. His parents were

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

immigrants from Austria-Hungary and Ukraine. He died on November 17, 1997, aged 83, at his home in

East Hampton, New York East Hampton is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in southeastern Suffolk County, New York United States. It is located at the eastern end of the South Shore (Long Island), South Shore of Long Island. It is the easternmost town i ...

. His papers are held at

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...

. Ignatow began his professional career as a businessman. After committing wholly to poetry, Ignatow worked as an editor of, among other periodicals, the ''

American Poetry Review ''The American Poetry Review'' (''APR'') is an American poetry magazine printed every other month on tabloid-sized newsprint. It was founded in 1972 by Stephen Berg and Stephen Parker in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The magazine's editor is Elizab ...

'' and the ''

Beloit Poetry Journal The ''Beloit Poetry Journal'' is an American poetry magazine established in 1950 at Beloit College.The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

''. He taught at the

New School for Social Research The New School for Social Research (NSSR), previously known as The University in Exile and The New School University, is a graduate-level educational division of The New School in New York City, United States. NSSR enrolls more than 1,000 stud ...

, the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

, the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

, York College (CUNY),

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

, and

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. He was president of the

Poetry Society of America Poetry (from the Greek word '' poiesis'', "making") is a form of literary art that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meanings in addition to, or in place of, literal or surface-level meanings. Any partic ...

from 1980 to 1984 and poet-in-residence at the

Walt Whitman Birthplace Association The Walt Whitman Birthplace State Historic Site is a state historic site in West Hills, New York, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The site preserves the birthplace of American poet Walt Whitman. History The Whitman family's c ...

in 1987.

Awards

Ignatow's many honors include a

Bollingen Prize The Bollingen Prize for Poetry is a literary honor bestowed on an American poet. Every two years, the award recognizes a poet for best new volume of work or lifetime achievement. It is awarded without nominations or submissions by the Beinecke R ...

, two

Guggenheim fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

s, the John Steinbeck Award, and a

National Institute of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqua ...

award "for a lifetime of creative effort." He received the

Shelley Memorial Award The Shelley Memorial Award of the Poetry Society of America, was established by the will of Mary P. Sears, and named after the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. The prize is given to a living American poet selected with reference to genius and need, and is ...

(1966), the

Frost Medal Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor that deposits onto a freezing surface. Frost forms when the air contains more water vapor than it can normally hold at a specific temperature. The process is similar ...

(1992), and the

William Carlos Williams Award The William Carlos Williams Award is given out by the Poetry Society of America for a poetry book published by a small press, non-profit, or university press. The award is endowed by the family and friends of Geraldine Clinton Little, a poet an ...

(1997) of the Poetry Society of America.

Bibliography

*''Living Is What I Wanted: Last Poems'' (BOA Editions, 1999) *''At My Ease: Uncollected Poems of the Fifties and Sixties'' (1998) *''I Have a Name'' (1996) *''The End Game and Other Stories'' (1996) *''Against the Evidence: Selected Poems, 1934–1994'' (1994) *''Despite the Plainness of the Day: Love Poems'' (1991) *''Shadowing the Ground'' (1991) *''If We Knew'' (Polymorph Editions, 1991) *''New and Collected Poems, 1970–1985'' (1986) *''Leaving the Door Open'' (1984) *''Whisper to the Earth'' (1981) *''Conversations'' (1980) *''Sunlight'' (1979) *''Tread the Dark'' (1978) *''Selected Poems'' (1975) *''Facing the Tree'' (1975) *''Poems: 1934–1969'' (1970) *''Rescue the Dead'' (1968) *''Earth Hard: Selected Poems'' (1968) *''Figures of the Human'' (1964) *''Say Pardon'' (1962) *''The Gentle Weightlifter'' (1955) *''Poems'' (

Decker Press The Press of James A. Decker was a poetry publishing house once located in the tiny hamlet of Prairie City, Illinois. Created in 1937 by James A. Decker, the press carried the full name of its founder until 1948 when the imprint was shortened to s ...

, 1948)

References

External links

Links to Ignatow's work
by Harvey Shapiro *
''On David Ignatow's Portrait''
by Alan Cooper, in the Spring 2010 York College Library newsletter, p. 7.

MSS 2
Special Collections & Archives
UC San Diego Library.
Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library
Emory University
David Ignatow collection

Ignatow Graubart Papers
Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries,

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ignatow, David 1914 births 1997 deaths Columbia University faculty People from East Hampton (town), New York Bollingen Prize recipients American people of Austrian-Jewish descent American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Jewish American poets 20th-century American poets York College, City University of New York faculty PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award winners Presidents of the Poetry Society of America