Denise Levertov
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Priscilla Denise Levertov (24 October 1923 – 20 December 1997) was a British-born naturalised American poet. She was heavily influenced by the Black Mountain poets and by the political context of the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
, which she explored in her poetry book ''The Freeing of the Dust''. She was a recipient of the Lannan Literary Award for Poetry.


Early life and influences

Levertov was born and grew up in
Ilford Ilford is a large List of areas of London, town in East London, England, northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Redbridge, Ilford is within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. It had a po ...
,
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, England. Couzyn, Jeni (1985), ''Contemporary Women Poets''.
Bloodaxe Books Bloodaxe Books is a British publishing house specializing in poetry. History Bloodaxe Books was founded in 1978 in Newcastle upon Tyne by Neil Astley, who is still editor and managing director. Bloodaxe moved its editorial office to Northumbe ...
, p. 74.
Her mother, Beatrice Adelaide (née Spooner-Jones) Levertoff, came from a small mining village in North Wales. Her father, Paul Levertoff, had been a teacher at
Leipzig University Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...
and as a Russian Hasidic Jew was held under house arrest during the First World War as an "
enemy alien In customary international law, an enemy alien is any alien native, citizen, denizen or subject of any foreign nation or government with which a domestic nation or government is in conflict and who is liable to be apprehended, restrained, secur ...
" by virtue of his ethnicity. He emigrated to the UK and became an
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
priest after converting to Christianity. In the mistaken belief that he would want to preach in a Jewish neighbourhood, he was housed in Ilford, within reach of a parish in
Shoreditch Shoreditch is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney alongside neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets, which are also perceived as part of the area due to historic ecclesiastical links. Shoreditch lies just north ...
, in East London. His daughter wrote: "My father's Hasidic ancestry, his being steeped in Jewish and Christian scholarship and mysticism, his fervour and eloquence as a preacher, were factors built into my cells."Couzyn (1985), ''Contemporary Women Poets'', p. 75. Levertov, who was educated at home, showed an enthusiasm for writing from an early age and studied ballet, art, piano and French as well as standard subjects. She wrote about the strangeness she felt growing up part Jewish, German, Welsh and English, but not fully belonging to any of these identities. She notes that it lent her a sense of being special rather than excluded: " knewbefore I was ten that I was an artist-person and I had a destiny." She noted: "Humanitarian politics came early into my life: seeing my father on a soapbox protesting
Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his overthrow in 194 ...
's invasion of Abyssinia; my father and sister both on soap-boxes protesting Britain's lack of support for Spain; my mother canvasing long before those events for the League of Nations Union; and all three of them working on behalf of the German and Austrian refugees from 1933 onwards… I used to sell the '' Daily Worker'' house-to-house in the working class streets of Ilford Lane". When Levertov was five years old she declared she would be a writer. At the age of 12, she sent some of her poems to T. S. Eliot, who replied with a two-page letter of encouragement. In 1940, when she was 17, Levertov published her first poem. During the Blitz, Levertov served in London as a civilian nurse. Her first book, ''The Double Image'', was published six years later. In 1947, she met and married American writer Mitchell Goodman and moved with him to the United States the following year. Although Levertov and Goodman would eventually divorce in 1975, they did have one son together, Nikolai, in 1949. They lived mainly in New York City, summering in
Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...
. In 1955, she became a naturalised American citizen. Levertov's first two books comprised poems written in traditional forms and language, but as she accepted the US as her new home and became more and more fascinated with the American idiom, she began to come under the influence of the Black Mountain poets and most importantly William Carlos Williams. Her first American book of poetry, ''Here and Now'', shows the beginnings of this transition and transformation. Her poem "With Eyes at the Back of Our Heads" established her reputation.


Later life and work

During the 1960s and '70s, Levertov became much more politically active in her life and work. As poetry editor for ''
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 ...
'', she was able to support and publish the work of feminist and other leftist activist poets. The
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
was an especially important focus of her poetry, which often tried to weave together the personal and political, as in her poem "The Sorrow Dance", which speaks of her sister's death. Also in response to the Vietnam War, Levertov joined the War Resisters League, and in 1968 signed the "
Writers and Editors War Tax Protest Tax resistance, the practice of refusing to pay taxes that are considered unjust, has probably existed ever since rulers began imposing taxes on their subjects. It has been suggested that tax resistance played a significant role in the collapse o ...
" pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the war. Levertov was a founding member of the anti-war collective RESIST along with
Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American professor and public intellectual known for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a ...
, Mitchell Goodman, William Sloane Coffin, and Dwight Macdonald. Much of the latter part of Levertov's life was spent in education. After moving to
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
, Levertov taught at
Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...
,
MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...
,
Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...
, and the
University of Massachusetts Boston The University of Massachusetts Boston (stylized as UMass Boston) is a Public university, public US-based research university. It is the only public research university in Boston and the third-largest campus in the five-campus University of Ma ...
. She also lived part-time in
Palo Alto Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...
and taught at
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
, as professor of English (professor emeritus). There she befriended Robert McAfee Brown, a professor of religion at Stanford and pastor. Franciscan Murray Bodo also became a spiritual advisor to her. In 1984 she uncovered notebooks of her mother and father, resolving some personal and religious conflict. In 1989, she moved from
Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 81, ...
, to Seattle, Washington, and lived near Seward Park on Lake Washington, with a view of her beloved Mount Rainier. On the West Coast, she had a part-time teaching stint at the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
and for 11 years (1982–1993) held a full professorship at Stanford University, where she taught in the
Stegner Fellowship The Stegner Fellowship program is a two-year creative writing fellowship at Stanford University. The award is named after American Wallace Stegner (1909–1993), a historian, novelist, short story writer, environmentalist, and Stanford faculty m ...
program. In 1984, she received a Litt. D. from
Bates College Bates College () is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian ...
. After retiring from teaching, she travelled for a year, doing poetry readings in the US and Britain. In 1990, she joined the Catholic Church at St. Edward’s Parish, Seattle; she became involved in protests of the US attack on Iraq. She retired from teaching at Stanford.''Denise Levertov: A Poet's Life''. In 1994, Levertov was diagnosed with lymphoma, and also suffered pneumonia and acute laryngitis. Despite this she continued to lecture and participate at national conferences, many on spirituality and poetry. In February 1997, she experienced the death of Mitch Goodman. In December 1997, Levertov died at the age of 74 from complications due to lymphoma. She was buried at
Lake View Cemetery Lake View Cemetery is a Private property, privately owned, Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Rural cemetery, garden cemetery located in the cities of Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Cleveland Heights, and East Cleveland, Ohio, East Cleveland ...
in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
, Washington. Her papers are held at
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
. The first full biography appeared in October 2012 by Dana Greene: ''Denise Levertov: A Poet's Life'' (Chicago: University of Illinois, 2012). Donna Krolik Hollenberg's more substantial biography, ''A Poet's Revolution: The Life of Denise Levertov,'' was published by the University of California Press in April 2013.


Political poetry

Both politics and war are major themes in Levertov's poetry. Levertov was published in the '' Black Mountain Review'' during the 1950s, but denied any formal relations with the group. She began to develop her own lyrical style of poetry through those influences. She felt it was part of a poet's calling to point out the injustice of the Vietnam War, and she also actively participated in rallies, reading poetry at some. Some of her war poetry was published in her 1971 book ''To Stay Alive'', a collection of anti-Vietnam War letters, newscasts, diary entries, and conversations. Complementary themes in the book involve the tension of the individual vs. the group (or government) and the development of personal voice in mass culture. In her poetry, she promotes community and group change through the imagination of the individual and emphasizes the power of individuals as advocates of change. She also links personal experience to justice and social reform. Suffering is another major theme in Levertov's war poetry. The poems "Poetry, Prophecy, Survival", "Paradox and Equilibrium", and "Poetry and Peace: Some Broader Dimensions" revolve around war, injustice, and prejudice. In her volume ''Life at War'', Levertov uses imagery to express the disturbing violence of the Vietnam War. Throughout these poems, she addresses violence and savagery, yet tries to bring grace into the equation, mixing the beauty of language and the ugliness of the horrors of war. The themes of her poems, especially "Staying Alive", focus on both the cost of war and the suffering of the Vietnamese. In her prose work, ''The Poet in the World'', she writes that violence is an outlet. Levertov's first successful Vietnam poetry was her book ''The Freeing of the Dust''. Some of the themes of this book of poems are the experience of the
North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954 Geneva Conference, 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it o ...
ese, and distrust of people. She attacks the United States pilots in her poems for dropping bombs. Overall, her war poems incorporate suffering to show that violence has become an everyday occurrence. After years of writing such poetry, Levertov eventually came to the conclusion that beauty and poetry and politics can't go together. This opened the door wide for her religious-themed poetry in the later part of her life.


Religious influences

From a very young age Levertov was influenced by her religion, and when she began writing it was a major theme in her poetry.Couzyn (1985), ''Contemporary Women Poets'', p. 78. Through her father she was exposed to both Judaism and Christianity. Levertov always believed that her culture and her family roots had inherent value to herself and her writing. Furthermore, she believed that she and her sister had a destiny pertaining to this. When Levertov moved to the United States, she fell under the influence of the Black Mountain Poets, especially the mysticism of
Charles Olson Charles John Olson (27 December 1910 – 10 January 1970) was a second generation modernist United States poetry, American poet who was a link between earlier Literary modernism, modernist figures such as Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams an ...
. She drew on the experimentation of
Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an List of poets from the United States, American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Ita ...
and the style of William Carlos Williams, but was also exposed to the
Transcendentalism Transcendentalism is a philosophical, spiritual, and literary movement that developed in the late 1820s and 1830s in the New England region of the United States. "Transcendentalism is an American literary, political, and philosophical movement of ...
of Thoreau and Emerson. Although all these factors shaped her poetry, her conversion to Christianity in 1984 was the main influence on her religious writing. Sometime shortly after her move to Seattle in 1989, she became a
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. In 1997, she brought together 38 poems from seven of her earlier volumes in ''The Stream & the Sapphire'', a collection intended, as Levertov explains in the foreword to the collection, to "trace my slow movement from agnosticism to Christian faith, a movement incorporating much doubt and questioning as well as affirmation." She corresponded with literary critic and Catholic sister M. Bernetta Quinn, who also reviewed her work.


Religious themes

Denise Levertov wrote many poems with religious themes throughout her career. These poems range from religious imagery to implied metaphors of religion. One particular theme was developed progressively throughout her poetry. This was the pilgrimage/spiritual journey of Levertov towards the deep spiritual understanding and truth in her last poems. One of her earlier poems is "A Tree Telling of Orpheus" from her book ''Relearning the Alphabet''. This poem uses the metaphor of a tree, which changes and grows when it hears the music of
Orpheus In Greek mythology, Orpheus (; , classical pronunciation: ) was a Thracians, Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet. He was also a renowned Ancient Greek poetry, poet and, according to legend, travelled with Jason and the Argonauts in se ...
. This is a metaphor of spiritual growth. The growth of the tree is like the growth of faith, and as the tree goes through life we also go through life on a spiritual journey. Much of Levertov's religious poetry was concerned with respect for nature and life. Also among her themes were nothingness and absence. In her earlier poems something is always lacking, searching, and empty. In "Work that Enfaiths" Levertov begins to confront this "ample doubt" and her lack of "burning surety" in her faith.Gallant, James. "Entering No-Man's Land: The Recent Religious Poetry of Denise Levertov". ''Renascence'' 50 (1998): 122–134. The religious aspect of this is the doubt vs. light debate. Levertov cannot find a balance between faith and darkness. She goes back and forth between the glory of God and nature, but doubt constantly plagues her. In her earlier religious poems Levertov searches for meaning in life. She explores God as he relates to nothing(ness) and everything. In her later poetry, a shift can be seen. ''A Door in the Hive'' and ''Evening Train'' are full of poems using images of cliffs, edges, and borders to push for change in life. Once again, Levertov packs her poetry with metaphors. She explores the idea that there can be peace in death. She also begins to suggest that nothing is a part of God. "Nothingness" and darkness are no longer just reasons to doubt and agonise over. "St. Thomas Didymus" and "Mass" show this growth, as they are poems that lack her former nagging wonder and worry. In ''Evening Train'', Levertov's poetry is highly religious. She writes about experiencing God. These poems are breakthrough poems for her. She writes about a mountain, which becomes a metaphor for life and God. When clouds cover a mountain, it is still huge and massive and in existence. God is the same, she says. Even when He is clouded, we know He is there. Her poems tend to shift away from constantly questioning religion to accepting it simply. In "The Tide", the final section of ''Evening Train'', Levertov writes about accepting faith and realizing that not knowing answers is tolerable. This acceptance of the paradoxes of faith marks the end of her "spiritual journey". Levertov's heavy religious writing began at her conversion to Christianity in 1984. She wrote a great deal of metaphysical poetry to express her religious views, and began to use Christianity to link culture and community together. In her poem "Mass" she writes about how the Creator is defined by His creation. She writes a lot about nature and individuals. In the works of her last phase, Levertov sees Christianity as a bridge between individuals and society, and explores how a hostile social environment can be changed by Christian values.Dewey, Anne. "The Art of the Octopus: The Maturation of Denise Levertov's Political Vision". ''Renascence'' 50 (1998): 65–81.


Legacy

Levertov wrote and published 24 books of poetry, as well as criticism and translations. She also edited several anthologies. Among her many awards and honours, she received the Shelley Memorial Award, the Robert Frost Medal, the Lenore Marshall Prize, the Lannan Award, a Catherine Luck Memorial Grant, a grant from the
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 ...
, and a
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 ...
. Levertov's "What Were They Like?" is currently included in the Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9–1) English Literature poetry anthology, and the Conflict cluster of the OCR GCSE (9-1) English Literature poetry anthology, ''Towards a World Unknown'' (2020).


Bibliography


Primary works

: '' The Double Image'' (London: The Cresset Press, 1946) : '' Here and Now'' (San Francisco, Calif.: City Lights Pocket Book Shop, The Pocket Poets Series: Number Six, 1956) : '' Overland to the Islands'' (Highlands, N.C.: Jonathan Williams, Publisher, 1958) : '' With Eyes at the Back of Our Heads'' (New York:
New Directions Publishing New Directions Publishing Corp. is an independent book publishing company that was founded in 1936 by James Laughlin (1914–1997) and incorporated in 1964. Its offices are located at 80 Eighth Avenue in New York City. History New Directions ...
, 1959) : '' The Jacob's Ladder'' (New York: New Directions Publishing, 1961) : '' O Taste and See: New Poems'' (New York: New Directions Publishing, 1964) : '' The Sorrow Dance'' (New York: New Directions Publishing, 1967) : '' Relearning the Alphabet'' (New York: New Directions Publishing, 1970) : '' To Stay Alive'' (New York: New Directions Publishing, 1971). : '' Footprints'' (New York: New Directions Publishing, 1972). : '' The Freeing of the Dust'' (New York: New Directions Publishing, 1975). : '' Life in the Forest'' (New York: New Directions Publishing, 1978). : '' Collected Earlier Poems 1940–1960'' (New York: New Directions Publishing, 1979). : '' Pig Dreams: Scenes from the Life of Sylvia'' (Woodstock, Vt.: The Countryman Press, 1981), Pastels by Liebe Coolidge. : '' Candles in Babylon'' (New York: New Directions Publishing, 1982). : '' Poems 1960–1967'' (New York: New Directions Publishing, 1983). : '' Oblique Prayers: New Poems'' (New York: New Directions Publishing, 1984). : '' Poems 1968–1972'' (New York: New Directions Publishing, 1987). : '' Breathing the Water'' (New York: New Directions Publishing, 1987). : '' A Door in the Hive'' (New York: New Directions Publishing, 1989). : '' Evening Train'' (New York: New Directions Publishing, 1992). : '' A Door in the Hive / Evening Train'' (1993). : '' Sands of the Well'' (New York: New Directions Publishing, 1996). : '' This Great Unknowing: Last Poems'' (New York: New Directions Publishing, 2000), With a Note on the Text by Paul A. Lacey. : '' Poems 1972–1982'' (New York: New Directions Publishing, New Directions Paperbook NDP913, 2001).


Collections

*''"The Collected Poems of Denise Levertov'' (NY: New Directions Publishing Corporation, 2013). Edited and Annotated by Paul A. Lacey and Anne Dewey, with an Introduction by Eavan Boland, Afterword by Paul A. Lacey & Anne Dewey. *''The Life Around Us: Selected Poems on Nature'' (1997). *''Making Peace'' (NY: New Directions Publishing Corporation, New Directions Bibelot NDP1023, 2005). Edited, with an Introduction, by Peggy Rosenthal *''The Stream & the Sapphire: Selected Poems on Religious Themes'' (1997). *''Selected Poems'' (UK: Bloodaxe Books, 1986). :This is not to be confused with the 2002 US volume of the same title. From Neil Astley, of Bloodaxe Books: :"''Selected Poems'' (1986) had no editor as such: the book was edited by Bloodaxe Books in consultation with Denise Levertov, with helpful suggestions made by Linda Anderson and Cynthia Fuller. It was originated by Bloodaxe Books for publication in the UK and there was no corresponding US edition. It had no introduction or preface." *''Selected Poems'' (NY: New Directions Publishing Corporation, 2002). Preface by Robert Creeley, edited with an afterword by Paul A. Lacey *''New Selected Poems'' (UK: Bloodaxe Books, 2003). Preface by Robert Creeley, edited with an afterword by Paul A. Lacey :The latter two volumes are identical in contents. From Neil Astley, of Bloodaxe Books: :"''New Selected Poems'' was first published in the US by New Directions in 2002 under the title ''Selected Poems'', and published by Bloodaxe Books in the UK in 2003 under the title ''New Selected Poems'' to avoid confusion with the previous UK edition called ''Selected Poems''. It was edited with an afterword by Paul A. Lacy and has a preface by Robert Creeley. So it is the same book as New Directions' ''Selected Poems''." *''Light Up the Cave'' (NY: New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1981).


Prose

*''The Poet in the World'' (NY: New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1973). *''Light Up the Cave'' (NY: New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1981). *''New & Selected Essays'' (NY: New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1992). *''Tesserae: Memories & Suppositions'' (NY: New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1995).


Letters

*''The Letters of Denise Levertov and William Carlos Williams''. Edited by Christopher MacGowan (1998). *''The Letters of Robert Duncan and Denise Levertov'' (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2004). Edited by Robert J. Bertholf & Albert Gelpi.


Translations

*''Black Iris: Selected Poems by Jean Joubert'' (Port Townsend, WA: Copper Canyon Press, 1988), Translated from the French by Denise Levertov. *''In Praise of Krishna: Songs from the Bengali'' (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Anchor Books, 1967), Translated by Edward C. Dimock, Jr. and Denise Levertov, with an introduction and notes by Edward Dimock, Jr., Illustrated by Anju Chaudhuri *''No Matter No Fact'' (NY: New Directions Publishing Corporation, February 1988), Alain Bosquet. Translated by Samuel Beckett, Eduard Roditi, Denise Levertov, and Alain Bosquet. *''Selected Poems by Eugene Guillevic'' (NY: New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1969) *''White Owl and Blue Mouse'' (Cambridge, MA: Zoland Books, 1991), Jean Joubert, Illustrations by Michel Gay.


Edited by Denise Levertov

*''The Collected Poems of Beatrice Hawley, The'' (Cambridge, MA: Zoland Books, 1989). Edited and with an Introduction by Denise Levertov. *''Out of the War Shadow: An Anthology of Current Poetry'' (NY: War Resisters League, 1967), compiled and edited by Denise Levertov *''Songs from an Outcast'' (Los Angeles, CA: UCLA American Indian Studies Center, 2000), John E. Smelcer.


References


Interviews

*''Conversations with Denise Levertov'' (Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, Literary Conversations Series, 1 November 1998). Edited by Jewel Spears Brooker.
"Con-versing with Denise Levertov"Kalliope: A Journal of Woman's Art and Literature
Spring/Summer 1979), William Slaughter.


Bibliography

*''A Bibliography of Denise Levertov'' (New York: Phoenix Book Shop, Paper, 1972), Compiled by Robert A. Wilson. *''Denise Levertov: An Annotated Primary and Secondary Bibliography'' (NY: Garland Publishing, Garland Reference Library of the Humanities, Vol. 856, November 1988), Liana Sakelliou-Schultz.


Criticism

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Biography

*Green, Dana. ''Denise Levertov: A Poet's Life'' (Chicago: University of Illinois, 2012). First full biography of the author. *Hollenberg, Donna Krolik, ''A Poet's Revolution: The Life of Denise Levertov'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2013). More authoritative biography of the author.


Further reading

* Keillor, Garrison
"Poems by Denise Levertov"
'' The Writer's Almanac''


Notes


External links


Profile and poems at the Academy of American Poets

Profile and poems at the Poetry Foundation





Denise Levertov Page on New Directions Publishing
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Levertov, Denise 1923 births 1997 deaths 20th-century American poets 20th-century American women writers 20th-century British poets 20th-century British women writers 20th-century Roman Catholics American tax resisters American women anthologists Black Mountain poets British emigrants to the United States British people of Russian-Jewish descent British people of Welsh descent British Roman Catholic writers British women poets Burials at Lake View Cemetery (Seattle) Catholic poets Converts to Roman Catholicism from atheism or agnosticism Jewish American poets People from Ilford Writers from the London Borough of Redbridge