Poet's Revolution: The Life of Denise Levertov

by Donna Krolik Hollenberg

This first full-length biography of Anglo- American poet and activist Denise Levertov (1923-1997) brings to life one of the major voices of the second half of the twentieth century, when American poetry was a powerful influence worldwide. Drawing on exhaustive archival research and interviews with 75 friends of Levertov, as well as on Levertov’s entire opus, Donna Krolik Hollenberg’s authoritative biography captures the full complexity of Levertov as both woman and artist, and the dynamic world she inhabited. She charts Levertov’s early life in England as the daughter of a Russian Hasidic father and a Welsh mother, her experience as a nurse in London during WWII, her marriage to an American after the war, and her move to New York City where she became a major figure in the American poetry scene. The author chronicles Levertov’s role as a passionate social activist in volatile times and her importance as a teacher of writing. Finally, Hollenberg shows how the spiritual dimension of Levertov’s poetry deepened toward the end of her life, so that her final volumes link lyric perception with political and religious commitment.

Genres: Poetry, Biography

531 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2013

Reviews

[James Murphy]

The poet Denise Levertov seemingly knew everybody. The book is most interesting, however, in the accounts detailing her relationships with other poets, like Wendell Berry, Kenneth Rexroth, and James Laughlin. I think I needed the biography to shed light on her religiosity and spiritual practice and how they reverberated in her poetry and daily life. The analysis of individual poems is invaluable.

[Piet]

Een excellente biografie over het leven van de (van oorsprong Engelse) Amerikaanse dichteres Denise Levertov (1923-1997). De biografe lijkt geen details uit het leven van Levertov over te slaan. Dat kan bij andere biografieën nog weleens vermoeien, maar hier geenszins. tekent het bewogen leven van de dichteres met groot respect zonder haar schaduwkanten te verbloemen (Levertov kon nog weleens fel uit de hoek komen). De lezer krijgt name van haar politieke en spirituele zoektocht een indringend beeld.

[James]

(continued update): She was exploring various manifestations of "The Authentic", "ranging from mundane reality--'verisimilitude' in bathrooms and kitchens--to dream and vision, in the more elusive but no less real legend of a 'country/beneath the waves', . . . asking Truth to 'confront us/at every turn,/in every guise,' and
'dwell
in our crowded hearts
our steaming bathrooms, kitchens full of
things to be done, the
ordinary streets.
Thrust close your smile
that we know you, terrible joy.'"
It reminded me of "The Life of Pi", looking at "Reality" in different ways, and being able to live with that paradox.