Genevieve Taggard (November 28, 1894 – November 8, 1948) 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 ...

Biography

Genevieve Taggard was born in

Waitsburg, Washington Waitsburg is a city in Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,166 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Waitsburg has a unique City government in the state of Washington, city classification in Washington sta ...

, to James Taggard and Alta Arnold, both of whom were school teachers. Her parents were both active members of the

Disciples of Christ The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th ...

, and at age two her parents moved to

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, where they became missionaries and founded a school in which they also taught. Genevieve Taggard began writing poetry at the early age of 13. In 1914 the family left Hawaii, and Taggard enrolled at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. Here she became an active member of the socialist political and literary community. She graduated in 1919 upon which she moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1920. Once in New York she started working for the publisher

B. W. Huebsch Benjamin W. Huebsch (March 21, 1876 – August 7, 1964) was an American publisher in New York City in the early 20th century. Background Huebsch was the son of Rabbi Adolphus Huebsch, who had immigrated to the United States from Hungary in 1866 ...

and in 1921 she co-founded the journal ''The Measure'' along with fellow writer and friend

Maxwell Anderson James Maxwell Anderson (December 15, 1888 – February 28, 1959) was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist, and lyricist. Anderson faced many challenges in his career, frequently losing jobs for expressing his opinions or supporting ...

. In the same year she married poet and novelist Robert Wolf with whom she had her only child Marcia Wolf (later Liles). Upon living in New York for most of the 1920s she assumed a teaching position at

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States. It is the oldest member of the h ...

, where she taught from 1929 to 1930. In 1931, she was a

Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon individuals who have demonstrated d ...

. In 1932, she accepted a professorship at

Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont, United States. Founded as a women’s college in 1932,

. In 1934 Taggard and Wolf divorced, and the following year she married Kenneth Durant. In 1934, she moved on to teach at

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College (SLC) is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York, United States. Founded as a Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in 1926, Sarah Lawrence College has been coeducational ...

, where she remained until 1947, a year before her death. Her poems were published in ''

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 ...

'', ''

The Kenyon Review ''The Kenyon Review'' is a literary magazine based in Gambier, Ohio, home of Kenyon College. ''The Review'' was founded in 1939 by John Crowe Ransom, critic and professor of English at Kenyon College, who served as its editor until 1959. ''T ...

'', ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'', ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...

''. During the 1930s, sparked in part by the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, but also largely by her philanthropic upbringing and her commitment to socialism, her poetry began to reflect her political and social views much more prominently. During this time 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 ...

allowed her to spend a year in

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and

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. The experience of Spain in its time shortly before the Spanish Civil War gave further rise and inspiration to her cause of raising social and political awareness of civil rights issues. Her papers are held at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

and the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...

Selected works

Poetry

* * ''Hawaiian Hilltop'', Wyckoff & Gelber, 1923
May Days: An Anthology of Verse from Masses-Liberator
Boni & Liveright, 1925 * ''Words for the Chisel'', A.A. Knopf, 1926 * ''Travelling Standing Still'', A.A. Knopf, 1928 * ''Not Mine to Finish: Poems 1928–1934'', Harper & brothers, 1934 * ''Calling Western Union'', Harper & brothers, 1936 * ''Collected Poems: 1918–1938'', Harper & brothers, 1938 * ''Long View'', Harper & brothers, 1942 * ''A Part of Vermont'', The River Press, 1945 * ''Slow Music'' Harper & brothers, 1946 *''Origin: Hawaii: poems'', D. Angus, 1947 * ''To test the joy'', selected poetry and prose; introduction by Terese Svoboda ; edited and with essays by Anne Hammond, Norwich : Boiler House Press, 2023,

Biography

* ''The Life and Mind of Emily Dickinson'', A.A. Knopf, 1930

References

Sources

*

''Modern American Poetry''

''Umbrella'', Christina Pacosz, Issue 6, Spring 2008

Catherine Daly

External links

* *
Genevieve Taggard Papers, 1881-2001
Manuscripts and Archives, New York Public Library.

''Proletarian Literature in the United States'', 1935.
The Papers of Genevieve Taggard
at Dartmouth College Library * {{DEFAULTSORT:Taggard, Genevieve 1894 births 1948 deaths 20th-century American poets Literature educators Mount Holyoke College faculty Sarah Lawrence College faculty University of California, Berkeley alumni American women poets 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American biographers American women biographers People from Waitsburg, Washington American socialists