Edwin Honig (September 3, 1919 – May 25, 2011) was an American

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

, and

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...

Life

Honig 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 ...

. He earned a bachelor's degree from the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

in 1941 and, after Army service in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, a master’s in English from Wisconsin. He published ten books of poetry, eight books of translation, five books of criticism and fiction, three books of plays. He taught at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

, where he started the Graduate Writing Program, and was Emeritus Professor. He was on the Advisory Board of the Christopher Isherwood Foundation. His work appeared in ''AGNI'' and ''Nedge'' magazines. Professor Honig’s first wife, Charlotte, died in the early 1960s. His second marriage, to Margot Dennes, ended in divorce in the early 1980s. Following an illness, cited by a family friend as complications from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

, Honig died on May 25, 2011. Professor Honig's survivors include his sister, Lila Putnam, and his two adopted sons from his marriage to Ms. Dennes, Daniel (born 1965) and Jeremy (born 1967). In 2012, filmmaker

Alan Berliner Alan Berliner (born 1956) is an American independent filmmaker. ''The New York Times'' has described Berliner's work as "powerful, compelling and bittersweet... full of juicy conflict and contradiction, innovative in their cinematic technique, u ...

completed a documentary feature film about Honig and Honig's loss of memory due to Alzheimer's titled, ''

First Cousin Once Removed A cousin is a relative who is the child of a parent's sibling; this is more specifically referred to as a first cousin. A parent of a first cousin is an aunt or uncle. More generally, in the kinship system used in the English-speaking world, c ...

''. Berliner's mother was Honig's first cousin. The film premiered at the

New York Film Festival The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center. Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, NYFF i ...

on October 9.

Awards

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

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 ...

* writer-in-residence

Mishkenot Sha'ananim Mishkenot Sha'ananim (, ''lit.'' Peaceful Dwellings) was the first Jewish settlement built outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, on a hill directly across Mount Zion. It was built in 1859–1860. This guesthouse was one of the first ...

* The

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

* The Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters * 1986 he was knighted by the

President of Portugal The president of Portugal, officially the president of the Portuguese Republic (, ), is the head of state and highest office of Portugal. The powers, functions and duties of prior presidential offices, and their relation with the prime minister ...

for his work in literary translation * 1996 by the

King of Spain The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish ...

Epoetry.org
/ref> * 1968-1969

Amy Lowell Poetry Travelling Scholarship The Amy Lowell Poetry Travelling Scholarship is given annually to a U.S.-born poet to spend one year outside North America in a country the recipient feels will most advance his or her work. When poet Amy Lowell died in 1925, her will established ...

* Governor's Medal (

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

) * Golden Rose of the New England Poetry Club

Work

Poetry

* * * * * * * * * with illustrations by Jean Zaleski * * * *

Plays

* ''The Widow'' (verse play), first produced in San Francisco, CA, 1953. * ''Calisto and Melibea'' (libretto; first produced in Davis, CA, 1979), Hellcoal Press (Providence, RI), 1972. *

Translations

* * * * * * * (With A. S. Trueblood) * * * * * * *

Criticism

* * *

References

External links

"Edwin Honig (1919 - )", ''The Poetry Foundation''

''The "Calisto and Melibea" of Edwin Honig'', Joseph Snow, University of Georgia

Blog post on PBS.org on First Cousin Once Removed
{{DEFAULTSORT:Honig, Edwin Harvard University faculty Brown University faculty 20th-century American poets 1919 births 2011 deaths American essayists 20th-century American translators Portuguese–English translators Spanish–English translators Deaths from dementia in Rhode Island Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in the United States Translators of Fernando Pessoa Writers from Brooklyn United States Army personnel of World War II