Rosmarie Waldrop (born Rosmarie Sebald; August 24, 1935) is an

American poet The poets listed below were either born in the United States or else published much of their poetry while living in that country. A B C D E F G H I–J K L M N O P Q *George Quasha (born 1942 in poetry, 1942) R ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

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 ...

essay An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

ist and

publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

. Born in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, she has lived in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

since 1958 and has settled in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

since the late 1960s. Waldrop is a co-editor and publisher of

Burning Deck Press Burning Deck was a small press specializing in the publication of experimental poetry and prose. Burning Deck was founded by the writers Keith Waldrop and Rosmarie Waldrop in 1961 and closed in 2017. Overview Although the Waldrops initially promot ...

Early life in Germany

Waldrop was born in

Kitzingen Kitzingen () is a town in the Germany, German state of Bavaria, capital of the Kitzingen (district), district Kitzingen. It is part of the Franconia geographical region and has around 21,000 inhabitants. Surrounded by vineyards, Kitzingen County i ...

am Main on August 24, 1935. Her father, Joseph Sebald, taught physical education at the town's high school. Towards the end of the

Second World War 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 ...

, she joined a travelling theatre, but returned to school in early 1946. At school, she studied piano and flute and played in a youth orchestra. During Christmas in 1954, the orchestra gave a concert for American soldiers stationed at Kitzingen. After the performance,

Keith Waldrop Bernard Keith Waldrop (December 11, 1932 – July 27, 2023) was an American poet, translator, publisher, and academic. He won the National Book Award for Poetry for his 2009 collection ''Transcendental Studies: A Trilogy''. Early life and educ ...

, a member of the audience, invited members of the orchestra to listen to his records. He and Rosmarie became friendly and worked together over the next few months, translating

German poetry German literature () comprises those literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German parts of Switzerland and Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol in Italy and to a les ...

into English.

University years

That same year, she entered the

University of Würzburg The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. Founded in 1402, it is one of the ol ...

, where she studied

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

art history Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

and

musicology Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, ...

. In 1955, she transferred to the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially ), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1 ...

, where she discovered the writings of

Robert Musil Robert Musil (; 6 November 1880 – 15 April 1942) was an Austrian philosophical writer. His unfinished novel, ''The Man Without Qualities'' (), is generally considered to be one of the most important and influential modernist novels. Family M ...

and participated in a protest against a lecture given by

Heidegger Martin Heidegger (; 26 September 1889 – 26 May 1976) was a German philosopher known for contributions to phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. His work covers a range of topics including metaphysics, art, and language. In April ...

. She then moved to the University of Aix-Marseille, where Keith spent 1956–57 on his

GI Bill The G.I. Bill, formally the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, but the te ...

. At the end of the year, he returned to the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. In 1958, he won a Major Hopwood Prize, sending most of the money to Rosmarie to pay for her passage to the United States.

In the United States

The couple married and Rosmarie enrolled at the University of Michigan, where she received a Ph.D. in 1966. She also became active in literary, musical and artistic circles around the university and the wider

Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

community. She began serious translation of French and

. In

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

, the Waldrops bought a second-hand printing press and started ''Burning Deck Magazine''. This was the beginning of Burning Deck, which was to become one of the most influential small press publishers of innovative poetry in the United States. As such, she is sometimes closely associated with the

Language poets The Language poets (or L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E (magazine), ''L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E'' poets, after the magazine of that name) are an avant-garde group or tendency in United States poetry that emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The poets included: Berna ...

Poetry and translations

Rosmarie Waldrop started publishing her own poetry in English in the late 1960s. Since then, she has published over three dozen books of poetry, prose and translation. Today her work is variously characterized as verse experiment, philosophical statement and personal narrative. Of the many formative influences on her mature style, a crucial influence was a year spent in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in the early 1970s, where she came into contact with leading ''avant garde'' French poets, including

Claude Royet-Journoud Claude Royet-Journoud (born 8 September 1941 in Lyon, France) is a contemporary French poet and artist living in Paris . Overview Royet-Journoud's publications in French include his tetralogy, published between 1972 and 1997: ''Le Renversement'', ...

Anne-Marie Albiach Anne-Marie Albiach (9 August 1937 – 4 November 2012) was a contemporary French poet and translator. Overview Anne-Marie Albiach's was a renowned French poet and writer born in Saint -Nazaire, France on 9 August 1937. Anne- Marie Albiach ...

, and

Edmond Jabès Edmond Jabès (; ; Cairo, April 14, 1912Edmond Jabès, ''From the Book to the Book: An Edmond Jabès Reader'' (Wesleyan University Press, 1991) p xxi – Paris, January 2, 1991) was a French writer and poet of Egyptian origin, and one of t ...

. These writers influenced her own work, while at the same time she and Keith became some of the main translators of their work into English, with Burning Deck one of the main vehicles for introducing their work to an English-language readership.

Awards and honors

Rosmarie Waldrop has given readings and published in many parts of Europe as well as the United States. She has received numerous awards and fellowships and was made a

Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

by the French government. In 2003 she was awarded a grant from the

Foundation for Contemporary Arts The Foundation for Contemporary Arts (FCA), is a nonprofit based foundation in New York City that offers financial support and recognition to contemporary performing and visual artists through awards for artistic innovation and potential. It was ...

' Grants to Artists Award. She was elected to the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

in 2006. She received the 2008 PEN Award for Poetry in Translation for her translation of

Ulf Stolterfoht Ulf Stolterfoht (born 8 June 1963 in Stuttgart) is a German writer. Life and work Ulf Stolterfoht opted out of military service and performed civilian service instead, after which he studied German and Linguistics in Bochum und Tübingen. St ...

's book ''Lingos I - IX''. Her translation of ''Almost 1 Book / Almost 1 Life'' by Elfriede Czurda was nominated for the

Best Translated Book Award The Best Translated Book Award was an American literary award that recognized the previous year's best original translation into English, one book of poetry and one of fiction. It was inaugurated in 2008 and was conferred by Three Percent, the onl ...

in 2013. She was given the America Award in Literature for a lifetime contribution to international writing in 2021.

Selected publications

Poetry

* ''The Aggressive Ways of the Casual Stranger'', NY: Random House,

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

* ''The Road Is Everywhere or Stop This Body'', Columbia, MO: Open Places,

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

* ''When They Have Senses'', Providence: Burning Deck,

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

* ''Nothing Has Changed'', Windsor, VT: Awede Press,

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

* ''Differences for Four Hands'', Philadelphia: Singing Horse,

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

; repr. Providence: Paradigm Press, 1999 * ''Streets Enough to Welcome Snow'', Barrytown, NY: Station Hill,

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

* ''The Reproduction of Profiles'', NY: New Directions,

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

* ''Shorter American Memory'', Providence: Paradigm Press,

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

* ''Peculiar Motions, Berkeley'', CA: Kelsey Street Press,

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

* ''Lawn of Excluded Middle'', NY: Tender Buttons,

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

* ''

A Key Into the Language of America ''A Key into the Language of America'' or ''An help to the Language of the Natives in that part of America called New England'' is a book written by Roger Williams in 1643 describing the Native American languages in New England in the 17th centu ...

'', NY: New Directions,

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

* ''Another Language: Selected Poems'', Jersey City: Talisman House,

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

* ''Split Infinites'', Philadelphia: Singing Horse Press,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

* ''Reluctant Gravities'', NY: New Directions,

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

* (with Keith Waldrop) ''Well Well Reality'', Sausalito, CA: The Post-Apollo Press,

* ''Love, Like Pronouns'', Omnidawn Publishing,

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

* ''Blindsight'', New York: New Directions,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

* ''Splitting Image'', Zasterle,

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

* ''Curves to the Apple'',brings together three volumes: ''The Reproduction of Profiles'', ''Lawn of Excluded Middle'' , and ''Reluctant Gravities'' New Directions,

* ''Driven to Abstraction'', New Directions,

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

*''Gap Gardening: Selected Poems'', New Directions, 2016 *''The Nick of Time'', New Directions, 2021

Fiction

* ''The Hanky of Pippin's Daughter,'' Barrytown, NY: Station Hill, 1986 * ''A Form/of Taking/It All,'' Barrytown, NY: Station Hill, 1990

Essays and criticism

* ''Against Language?'', The Hague: Mouton/Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1971 *''The Ground Is the Only Figure: Notebook Spring 1996'', Providence: The Impercipient Lecture Series,Vol.1, No.3 (April 1997) *''Lavish Absence: Recalling and Rereading Edmond Jabès'', Wesleyan University Press, 2002 *''Dissonance (if you are interested)'', University Alabama Press, 2005

Translations

*'' The Book of Questions'' by Edmond Jabès, 7 vols. bound as 4, Wesleyan UP, 1976, 1977, 1983, 1984 *'' From a Reader's Notebook,'' by Alain Veinstein, Annex Press, Ithaca New York, 1983 *''Paul Celan: Collected Prose'', by

Paul Celan Paul Celan (; ; born Paul Antschel; 23 November 1920 – c. 20 April 1970) was a German-speaking Romanian poet, Holocaust survivor, and literary translation, literary translator. He adopted his pen name (an anagram of the Romanian spelling Ancel ...

, Manchester & NY: Carcanet & Sheep Meadow, 1986 *''The Book of Dialogue'' by Edmond Jabès, Wesleyan UP, 1987 *''Late Additions: Poems'' by

Emmanuel Hocquard Emmanuel Hocquard (11 April 1940 – 27 January 2019) was a French poet. Life He grew up in Tangier, Morocco. He served as the editor of the small press ''Orange Export Ltd.'' and, with Claude Royet-Journoud, edited two anthologies of new Amer ...

(with Connell McGrath), Peterborough, Cambs.: Spectacular Diseases, 1988 *''The Book of Shares'' by Edmond Jabès, Chicago UP, 1989 *''Some Thing Black'' by Jacques Roubaud, Elmwood Park, IL: Dalkey Archive, 1990 *''The Book of Resemblances'' by Edmond Jabès, 3 vols., Wesleyan UP, 1990, 91, 92 *''From the Book to the Book'' by Edmond Jabès, Wesleyan UP, 1991 *''The Book of Margins'' by Edmond Jabès, Chicago UP, 1993 *''A Foreigner Carrying in the Crook of His Arm a Tiny Book'' by Edmond Jabès, Wesleyan UP, 1993 *''Heiligenanstalt'' by

Friederike Mayröcker Friederike Mayröcker (20 December 1924 – 4 June 2021) was an Austrian writer of poetry and prose, radio plays, children's books and dramatic texts. She experimented with language, and was regarded as an avant-garde poet, and as one of the l ...

, Providence: Burning Deck, 1994 *''The Plurality of Worlds of Lewis'' by Jacques Roubaud, Normal, IL: Dalkey Archive Press, 1995 *''Mountains in Berlin: Selected Poems'' by Elke Erb, Providence: Burning Deck, 1995 *''The Little Book of Unsuspected Subversion'' by Edmond Jabès, Stanford UP, 1996 *''With Each Clouded Peak'' by Friederike Mayröcker (with Harriett Watts), Los Angeles, CA: Sun & Moon Press, 1998 *''A Test of Solitude'' by Emmanuel Hocquard, Providence: Burning Deck, 2000 *(with

Harry Mathews Harry Mathews (February 14, 1930 – January 25, 2017) was an American writer, the author of various novels, volumes of poetry and short fiction, and essays. Mathews was also a translator of the French language. Life Born in New York City to an ...

and Christopher Middleton) ''Many Glove Compartments'' by Oskar Pastior, Providence: Burning Deck, 2001 *''Desire for a Beginning Dread of One Single End'' by Edmond Jabès (Images & Design by Ed Epping), New York, New York : Granary Books, 2001 *''The Form of a City Changes Faster, Alas, Than the Human Heart'' by Jacques Roubaud, Dalkey Archive Press; Translation edition, 2006 *''Almost 1 Book / Almost 1 Life'' by Elfriede Czurda, Providence, Burning Deck, 2012 *''Under the Dome: Walks with Paul Celan'' by Jean Daive, San Francisco: City Lights Books, 2020

Notes

External links

;Exhibits, sites, and homepages
Rosmarie Waldrop at the Electronic Poetry Center (EPC)Rosmarie Waldrop Exhibit at the Academy of American PoetsBurning Deck
;Readings and talks (audiofiles)

;Others on Waldrop including reviews, criticism, and retrospectives

by poet by

Ben Lerner Benjamin S. Lerner (born February 4, 1979) is an American poet, novelist, essayist, and critic. The recipient of fellowships from the Fulbright, Guggenheim, and MacArthur Foundations, Lerner has been a finalist for the National Book Award for P ...

in ''

Jacket A jacket is a garment for the upper body, usually extending below the hips. A jacket typically has sleeves and fastens in the front or slightly on the side. Jackets without sleeves are vests. A jacket is generally lighter, tighter-fitting, and ...

'' upon the publication of Waldrop's ''Curves to the Apple'', which gathers her trilogy of prose poems into one volume
Rosmarie Waldrop: Dictionary of Literary Biography v.169 (1996)
includes "Bibliographical Information", "Biographical and Critical Essay", and "Further Readings about the Author". The piece's author notes: "Written in 1994–1995, the entry does not take into account Rosmarie Waldrop's substantial accomplishments since that time". ;Interviews

this interview first appeared on-line January 11, 2008 and includes many indispensable links

see Joan Retallack for further information
Experimental Poetry Press Closes Shop: An Interview with Burning Deck’s Rosmarie Waldrop
Words Without Borders, 15 Dec. 2015. ;Work online including poems and essays
''Between Tongues'': An Interview / & ''5 Poems''
on this page, scroll down to 17 Dec 2005 for links to her work {{DEFAULTSORT:Waldrop, Rosmarie 1935 births Living people People from Kitzingen English-language poets American book publishers (people) Writers from Rhode Island German women writers American women poets American editors American translators French–English translators University of Würzburg alumni University of Freiburg alumni Aix-Marseille University alumni University of Michigan alumni 21st-century American women