Myra Cohn Livingston
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Myra Cohn Livingston (August 17, 1926 – August 23, 1996) was an American poet, writer, and educator who is primarily known for her books of
free verse Free verse is an open form of poetry which does not use a prescribed or regular meter or rhyme and tends to follow the rhythm of natural or irregular speech. Free verse encompasses a large range of poetic form, and the distinction between free ...
children's poetry.


Biography


Early life and education

Myra Cohn was born in
Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...
. Her family moved to
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
when she was twelve years old. She earned a
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
degree from
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 had studied under
Horace Gregory Horace Gregory (April 10, 1898 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin – March 11, 1982 in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts) was a prize-winning American poet, translator of classic poetry, literary critic and college professor. He was awarded the Bollingen ...
and
Robert Fitzgerald Robert Stuart Fitzgerald (12 October 1910 – 16 January 1985) was an American poet, literary critic and translator whose renderings of the Greek classics "became standard works for a generation of scholars and students".Mitgang, Herbert (Januar ...
, in 1948."Myra Cohn Livingston." ''Gale Literature:
Contemporary Authors ''Contemporary Authors'' is a reference work that has been published by Gale since 1962. The work provides short biographies and bibliographies of contemporary and near-contemporary writers and is a major source of information on over 116,000 liv ...
'', Gale, 2003. ''Gale Literature Resource Center''. Accessed 18 May 2023.
Rochman, Hazel. "Myra Cohn Livingston." ''American Writers for Children Since 1960: Poets, Illustrators, and Nonfiction Authors'', edited by Glenn E. Estes, Gale, 1987. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 61. ''Gale Literature Resource Center''. Accessed 19 May 2023.


Career

She was a professional
French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most o ...
musician from 1941 to 1948 and a book reviewer for the ''Los Angeles Daily News'' from 1948 to 1949 and ''Los Angeles Mirror'' from 1949 to 1950. She was personal secretary for singer
Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, television personality, and the chart-topping female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during the ...
and for violinist
Jascha Heifetz Jascha Heifetz (; December 10, 1987) was a Russian-American violinist, widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time. Born in Vilnius, he was soon recognized as a child prodigy and was trained in the Russian classical violin styl ...
. She lived in
Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
for thirteen years after she married Richard R. Livingston and she took a year off working, but she decided that she was dissatisfied without a job outside the home. She worked at a bookstore and at the
Dallas Public Library The Dallas Public Library (DPL) is the public library system that serves the city of Dallas, Texas, United States. With more than 4 million items and 30 locations, the Dallas Public Library is the largest public library system in North Texas. A ...
as a creative writing instructor."Myra Cohn Livingston (1926-)." ''Something About the Author'', edited by Donna Olendorf, vol. 68, Gale, 1992, pp. 143-148. ''Gale Literature: Something About the Author''. Accessed 18 May 2023. She also published her first of many books of children's poetry, ''Whispers, and Other Poems'' (Harcourt, 1958). She had written it twelve years earlier when she was in college. Her early works drew upon her childhood and the experiences of her children. Her book ''The Way Things Are, and Other Poems'' received a Golden Kite Honor Award from the Society of Children's Book Writers in 1974. ''Poems for Jewish Holidays'' received a
National Jewish Book Award The Jewish Book Council (Hebrew: ), founded in 1943, is an American organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature. The goal of the council, as stated on its website, is "to promote the reading, writing and publishing of qual ...
in 1987. She received a Kerlan Award from the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
."Myra Cohn Livingston (1926-1996)." ''Something About the Author'', edited by Kevin Hile, vol. 92, Gale, 1997, pp. 126-127. ''Gale Literature: Something About the Author''. Accessed 19 May 2023. Livingston wrote in an article that appeared in ''Language Arts'' in March 1978: "No one can teach creative writing.... One can only make children aware of their sensitivities, and help children learn of the forms, the basic tools of poetry, into which they can put their own voices. During these wentyyears I have touched the lives of thousands of children and I have given praise when it is due, and criticism when it is warranted. But I have never told a child that he is a ''poet'', for I know only too well the years and work it takes to be considered a poet". Livingston worked as a children's poetry consultant to publishing houses from 1975 to 1996. Livingston was poet in residence for the
Beverly Hills Unified School District The Beverly Hills Unified School District (abbreviated BHUSD) is a public school district based in the city of Beverly Hills, California. It was unified into an elementary and high school district in 1936. Serving the city of Beverly Hills, it ...
from 1966 to 1984. She was a senior extension lecturer at the
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
, senior extension lecturer, 1973 to 1996. Her students included Kristine O'Connell George, Hope Anita Smith, Sonya Sones, April Halprin Wayland, and Janet S. Wong.


Personal life, death, and legacy

She married Richard R. Livingston, a
certified public accountant Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Stat ...
, in 1952. He died in 1990. They had three children, one of whom,
Jennie Jennie may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Jennie'' (film), a 1940 American drama film * ''Jennie'' (musical), a 1963 Broadway production * ''Jennie'' (novel), a 1994 science fiction thriller by Douglas Preston * '' Jennie: Lady Randolph C ...
, is a filmmaker. Livingston was a collector of books. Livingston died of cancer on August 23, 1996, in
Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...
. The Children's Literature Council of Southern California's Myra Cohn Livingston Award is named for her.


Selected works


Children's poetry books

* ''Whispers, and Other Poems,'' illustrated by Jacqueline Chwast, Harcourt, 1958. * ''Wide Awake, and Other Poems,'' illustrated by Chwast, Harcourt, 1959. * ''I'm Hiding,'' illustrated by Erik Blegvad, Harcourt, 1961. * ''See What I Found,'' illustrated by Blegvad, Harcourt, 1962. * ''I Talk to Elephants,'' photographs by
Isabel Gordon Isabel is a female name of Iberian origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of '' Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew ''Elisheba''). Arising in the 12th century, it became popul ...
, Harcourt, 1962. * ''I'm Not Me,'' illustrated by Blegvad, Harcourt, 1963. * ''Happy Birthday!,'' illustrated by Blegvad, Harcourt, 1964. * ''The Moon and a Star, and Other Poems,'' illustrated by Judith Shahn, Harcourt, 1965. * ''I'm Waiting!,'' illustrated by Blegvad, Harcourt, 1966. * ''Old Mrs. Twindlytart, and Other Rhymes,'' illustrated by Enrico Arno, Harcourt, 1967. * ''A Crazy Flight, and Other Poems,'' illustrated by James J. Spanfeller, Harcourt, 1969. * ''The Malibu, and Other Poems,'' illustrated by Spanfeller, Atheneum, 1972. * ''The Way Things Are, and Other Poems,'' illustrated by Jenny Oliver, Atheneum, 1974. * ''4-Way Stop, and Other Poems,'' illustrated by Spanfeller, Atheneum, 1976. * ''A Lollygag of Limericks,'' illustrated by Joseph Low, Atheneum, 1978. * ''O Sliver of Liver: Together with Other Triolets, Cinquains, Haiku, Verses, and a Dash of Poems,'' illustrated by Iris Van Rynbach, Atheneum, 1978. * ''No Way of Knowing: Dallas Poems,'' Atheneum, 1979. * ''A Circle of Seasons,'' illustrated by
Leonard Everett Fisher Leonard Everett Fisher (June 24, 1924 – March 2, 2024) was an American artist best known for illustrating children's books. From 1955 he illustrated about 250 books for younger readers including about 88 that he also wrote. Biography Fisher was ...
, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1982. * ''Sky Songs,'' illustrated by Fisher, Holiday House, 1984. * ''Monkey Puzzle, and Other Poems,'' illustrated by Antonio Frasconi, Atheneum, 1984. * ''A Song I Sang to You: A Selection of Poems,'' illustrated by Margot Tomes, Harcourt, 1984. * ''Celebrations,'' illustrated by Fisher, Holiday House, 1985. * ''Worlds I Know and Other Poems,'' illustrated by Tim Arnold, Atheneum, 1985. * ''Earth Songs,'' illustrated by Fisher, Holiday House, 1986. * ''Higgledy-Piggledy: Verses and Pictures,'' illustrated by
Peter Sis Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...
, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1986. * ''Sea Songs,'' illustrated by Fisher, Holiday House, 1986. * ''Space Songs,'' illustrated by Fisher, Holiday House, 1988. * ''There Was a Place and Other Poems,'' Macmillan, 1988. * ''Up in the Air,'' illustrated by Fisher, Holiday House, 1989. * ''Birthday Poems,'' illustrated by Tomes, Holiday House, 1989. * ''Remembering, and Other Poems,'' Macmillan, 1989. * ''My Head Is Red and Other Riddle Rhymes,'' illustrated by Tere Lo Prete, Holiday House, 1990. * ''Let Freedom Ring: A Ballad of Martin Luther King, Jr.,'' illustrated by Samuel Byrd, Holiday House, 1992. * ''Light and Shadow,'' photographs by Barbara Rogasky, Holiday House, 1992. * ''I Never Told, and Other Poems,'' McElderry (New York, NY), 1992. * ''Abraham Lincoln: A Man for All the People,'' illustrated by Samuel Byrd, Holiday House, 1993. * ''Call Down to the Moon: Poems of Music'', HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1994. * ''Keep on Singing: A Ballad of Marian Anderson,'' illustrated by Samuel Byrd, Holiday House, 1994. * ''Flights of Fancy and Other Poems,'' McElderry, 1994. * ''B Is For Baby: An Alphabet of Verses,'' photographs by Steel Stillman, McElderry, 1996. * ''Festivals,'' illustrated by Leonard Everett Fisher, Holiday House, 1996. * ''Cricket Never Does: A Collection of Haiku and Tanka'', Margaret K. McElderry Books (New York, NY), 1997.


Adult non-fiction

* ''When You Are Alone / It Keeps You Capone: An Approach to Creative Writing with Children,'' Atheneum (New York, NY), 1973. * ''Come Away'' (fiction for children), illustrated by Irene Haas, Atheneum, 1974. * ''A Tribune to
Lloyd Alexander Lloyd Chudley Alexander (January 30, 1924 – May 17, 2007) was an American author of more than 40 books, primarily fantasy novels for children's literature, children and young adults. Over his seven-decade career, Alexander wrote 48 books, and ...
,'' Drexel Institute (Philadelphia), 1976. * ''The Child as Poet: Myth or Reality?,'' Horn Book (Boston), 1984. * ''Climb into the Bell Tower: Essays on Poetry,'' Harper (New York City), 1990. * ''Poem-Making: Ways to Begin Writing Poetry,'' Harper, 1991. * (Translator with Joseph F. Dominguez) Juan R. Jimenez, ''Platero and I,'' illustrated by
Antonio Frasconi Antonio Frasconi (28 April 1919 in Montevideo, Uruguay – 8 January 2013 in Norwalk, CT, USA) was a Uruguayan - American visual artist, best known for his woodcuts. He was raised in Montevideo, Uruguay, and lived in the United States from 19 ...
, Houghton (Boston), 1993.


Collections edited

* ''A Tune beyond Us: A Collection of Poetry,'' illustrated by Spanfeller, Harcourt, 1968. * ''Speak Roughly to Your Little Boy: A Collection of Parodies and Burlesques, Together with the Original Poems, Chosen and Annotated for Young People,'' illustrated by Low, Harcourt, 1971. * ''Listen, Children, Listen: An Anthology of Poems for the Very Young,'' illustrated by
Trina Schart Hyman Trina Schart Hyman (April 8, 1939 – November 19, 2004) was an American illustrator of children's books. She illustrated over 150 books, including fairy tales and Arthurian legends. She won the 1985 Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustra ...
, Harcourt, 1972. * ''What a Wonderful Bird the Frog Are: An Assortment of Humorous Poetry and Verse,'' Atheneum, 1973. * ''The Poems of Lewis Carroll,'' illustrated by
John Tenniel John Tenniel (; 28 February 182025 February 1914) was an English illustrator, graphic humourist and political cartoonist prominent in the second half of the 19th century. An alumnus of the Royal Academy of Arts in London, he was knight bachelor ...
and others, Crowell (New York, NY), 1973. * ''One Little Room, An Everywhere: Poems of Love,'' illustrated by Frasconi, Atheneum, 1975. * ''O Frabjous Day! Poetry for Holidays, and Special Occasions,'' Atheneum, 1977. * ''Callooh! Callay!: Holiday Poems for Young Readers,'' illustrated by Janet Stevens, Atheneum, 1979. * ''Poems of Christmas,'' Atheneum, 1980. * ''Why Am I Grown So Cold?: Poems of the Unknowable,'' Macmillan, 1982. * ''How Pleasant to Know Mr. Lear!,'' Holiday House, 1982. * ''Christmas Poems,'' illustrated by Hyman, Holiday House, 1984. * (With Zena Sutherland) ''The Scott, Foresman Anthology of Children's Literature,'' Scott, Foresman (Glenview, IL), 1984. * ''Easter Poems,'' illustrated by John Wallner, Holiday House, 1985. * ''Thanksgiving Poems,'' illustrated by
Stephen Gammell Stephen Gammell (born February 10, 1943) is an American illustrator of children's books. He won the 1989 Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustration, recognizing ''Song and Dance Man'' by Karen Ackerman. His illustrations in ''Where the Buff ...
, Holiday House, 1985. * ''A Learical Lexicon: A Magnificent Feast of Boshblobberbosh and Fun from the Works of
Edward Lear Edward Lear (12 May 1812 – 29 January 1888) was an English artist, illustrator, musician, author and poet, who is known mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose and especially his limerick (poetry), limericks, a form he popularised. ...
,'' illustrated by Low, Atheneum, 1985. * ''Poems for Jewish Holidays,'' illustrated by Lloyd Bloom, Holiday House, 1986. * ''New Year's Poems,'' illustrated by Tomes, Holiday House, 1987. * ''Valentine Poems,'' illustrated by Patricia Brewster, Holiday House, 1987. * ''Cat Poems,'' illustrated by Hyman, Holiday House, 1987. * ''I Like You, If You Like Me: Poems of Friendship,'' Macmillan, 1987. * (With Norma Farber) ''These Small Stones,'' Harper, 1987. * ''Poems for Mothers,'' illustrated by Deborah Kogan Ray, Holiday House, 1988. * ''Poems for Fathers,'' illustrated by Robert Casilla, Holiday House, 1989. * ''Halloween Poems,'' illustrated by Gammell, Holiday House, 1989. * ''Dilly Dilly Piccalilli: Poems for the Very Young,'' illustrated by Eileen Christelow, Macmillan, 1989. * ''If the Owl Calls Again,'' illustrated by Frasconi, Macmillan, 1990. * ''Dog Poems,'' illustrated by Leslie Morrill, Holiday House, 1990. * ''Poems for Grandmothers,'' illustrated by Patricia Callen-Clark, Holiday House, 1990. * ''Poems for Brothers, Poems for Sisters,'' illustrated by Jean Zallinger, Holiday House, 1991. * ''Lots of Limericks,'' Macmillan, 1991. * ''If You Ever Meet a Whale,'' illustrated by
Leonard Everett Fisher Leonard Everett Fisher (June 24, 1924 – March 2, 2024) was an American artist best known for illustrating children's books. From 1955 he illustrated about 250 books for younger readers including about 88 that he also wrote. Biography Fisher was ...
, Holiday House, 1992. * ''A Time to Talk: Poems of Friendship,'' McElderry, 1992. * ''Read Along: Poems on Wheels,'' McElderry, 1993. * ''Riddle-me Rhymes,'' McElderry, 1994. * ''Animal, Vegetable, Mineral: Poems about Small Things,'' HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1994. * ''Call Down the Moon: Poems of Music,'' McElderry, 1995.


References


External links


Myra Cohn Livingston
on
Goodreads Goodreads is an American social cataloging website and a subsidiary of Amazon that allows individuals to search its database of books, annotations, quotes, and reviews. Users can sign up and register books to generate library catalogs and readi ...

Papers
at
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

Book reviews
at ''
Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...
''
Book reviews
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'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Livingston, Myra Cohn 1926 births 1996 deaths American children's writers American writers 20th-century American women writers American women poets University of Southern California faculty Sarah Lawrence College alumni Jewish American poets