Allen Grossman
Encyclopedia
Allen Grossman is a noted American
poet
, critic
and professor
.
in 1932, Grossman was educated at Harvard University
, graduating with an MA
in 1956 after several interruptions. He went on to receive a PhD
from Brandeis University
in 1960, where he remained a professor until 1991. In 1991 he became the Andrew W. Mellon
Professor in the Humanities at The Johns Hopkins University where until 2005 he taught in the English
Department, primarily focusing on poetry
and poetics
. He is now retired from teaching but continues to write.
Grossman's first marriage ended in divorce; he is currently married to novelist Judith Grossman
. His children are Jonathan Grossman and Adam Grossman from the first marriage, and Bathsheba Grossman
, Austin Grossman
, and Lev Grossman
from the second.
On November 11, 2006, on the occasion of his retirement, several friends, colleagues and students of Grossman held a joint reading in his honor. These included Michael Fried, Susan Howe
, Ha Jin
, Mark Halliday
, Breyten Breytenbach
, Susan Stewart, and Frank Bidart
. The event culminated with a reading by Grossman of poetry from his latest book of poems, Descartes' Loneliness.
James Longenbach:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
poet
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
and professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
.
Biography
Born in Minneapolis, MinnesotaMinneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
in 1932, Grossman was educated at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, graduating with an MA
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in 1956 after several interruptions. He went on to receive a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from Brandeis University
Brandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
in 1960, where he remained a professor until 1991. In 1991 he became the Andrew W. Mellon
Andrew W. Mellon
Andrew William Mellon was an American banker, industrialist, philanthropist, art collector and Secretary of the Treasury from March 4, 1921 until February 12, 1932.-Early life:...
Professor in the Humanities at The Johns Hopkins University where until 2005 he taught in the English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
Department, primarily focusing on poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
and poetics
Poetics
Aristotle's Poetics is the earliest-surviving work of dramatic theory and the first extant philosophical treatise to focus on literary theory...
. He is now retired from teaching but continues to write.
Grossman's first marriage ended in divorce; he is currently married to novelist Judith Grossman
Judith Grossman
Judith Grossman is an American writer. She earned a scholarship to Oxford, from which she received a First Class degree in English in 1958. She received a PH.D. from Brandeis University, in 1968. She taught at Bennington College. She also taught in the Creative Writing MFA programs at U. C. Irvine ...
. His children are Jonathan Grossman and Adam Grossman from the first marriage, and Bathsheba Grossman
Bathsheba Grossman
Bathsheba Grossman is an artist in Santa Cruz, California who creates sculptures using computer-aided design and three-dimensional modeling, with metal printing technology to produce sculpture in bronze and stainless steel. Her bronze sculptures are primarily mathematical in nature, often...
, Austin Grossman
Austin Grossman
Austin Grossman [b. ] is a writer and game designer who has contributed to the New York Times and a number of video games.He is the author of the novel Soon I Will Be Invincible, which was published by Pantheon Books in 2007....
, and Lev Grossman
Lev Grossman
Lev Grossman is an American novelist and journalist, notably the author of the novels Warp , Codex , The Magicians and The Magician King...
from the second.
On November 11, 2006, on the occasion of his retirement, several friends, colleagues and students of Grossman held a joint reading in his honor. These included Michael Fried, Susan Howe
Susan Howe
Susan Howe is a American poet, scholar, essayist and critic, who has been closely associated with the Language poets, among others poetry movements. Her work is often classified as Postmodern because it expands traditional notions of genre...
, Ha Jin
Ha Jin
Jīn Xuěfēi is a contemporary Chinese-American writer and novelist using the pen name Ha Jin . Ha comes from his favorite city, Harbin.-Early life:...
, Mark Halliday
Mark Halliday
Mark Halliday is a noted American poet, professor and critic. He is author of five collections of poetry, most recently Keep This Forever...
, Breyten Breytenbach
Breyten Breytenbach
Breyten Breytenbach is a South African writer and painter with French citizenship.-Biography:Breyten Breytenbach was born in Bonnievale, Western Cape, approximately 180 km from Cape Town and 100 km from the southernmost tip of Africa at Cape Agulhas...
, Susan Stewart, and Frank Bidart
Frank Bidart
Frank Bidart is an American academic and poet.-Biography:In 1957, he began to study at the University of California at Riverside and went on to Harvard, where he was a student and friend of Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Bishop...
. The event culminated with a reading by Grossman of poetry from his latest book of poems, Descartes' Loneliness.
Poetry
- Wash Day, Descartes' Loneliness, Allen Grossman, Poetry Daily
- City of David, Descartes' Loneliness, Allen Grossman, Cahiers de Corey
- Dust, Allen Grossman, AGNI Online
Ploughshares
- The Loss of the Beloved Companion, Ploughshares, Summer 1979
- The Thrush Relinquished, Ploughshares, Summer 1979
- The Book of Father Dust, Ploughshares, Summer 1979
- The Department, Ploughshares, Summer 1979
- Of The Great House, Ploughshares, Summer 1981
- Phoenix, Ploughshares, Winter 1990-91
- Poland of Death (III), Ploughshares, Summer 1991
- June, June, Ploughshares, Winter 1995-96
- Latch, Ploughshares, Winter 1999-00
- The Garden Oak, Ploughshares, Spring 2008
Books
- A Harlot's Hire, (Cambridge, Mass.: Boars Head Press, 1959).
- The Recluse, (Cambridge, Mass.: Pym-Randall Press, 1965).
- And The Dew Lay All Night Upon My Branch, (Lexington, Mass.: Aleph Press, 1974).
- The Woman on the Bridge over the Chicago River, (New York: New Directions, 1979).
- Of The Great House, (New York: New Directions, 1982)
- The Bright Nails Scattered on the Ground, (New York: New Directions, 1986).
- The Ether Dome and Other Poems New and Selected, (1979–1990) (New York: New Directions, Fall 1991).
- The Song of the Lord, (Watershed, 1991). An audiotape where the author reads poems selected from The Ether Dome.
- How to Do Things with Tears, (New York: New Directions, 2001).
- Sweet Youth, (New York: New Directions, 2002).
- Descartes' Loneliness, (New York: New Directions, 2007)
- True-Love: Essays on Poetry and Valuing, (Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 2009)
Selected Prose
- Poetic Knowledge in the Early Yeats, a study of The Wind Among the Reeds (University of Virginia Press, 1969)
- The Sighted Singer Two Works on Poetry (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992) Contains (Part II): "Summa Lyrica: A Primer of the Common Places in Speculative Poetics".
- The Long Schoolroom: Lessons in the Bitter Logic of the Poetic Principle (University of Michigan Press, 1997).
- "The Passion of Laocoon: Warfare of the Religious Against the Poetic Institution" in Western Humanities Review, Vol LVI Number 2 Fall 2002, pp. 30–80.
- "Wordworth's 'The Solitary Reaper': Notes on Poiesis, Pastoral, and Institution", TriQuarterly 116, Summer 2003.
Prizes and Awards
- Garrison Award for Poetry (195?)
- Prize of the American Academy of Poetry (195?)
- A. B. Cohen Award for Teaching (1965)
- The Pushcart PrizePushcart PrizeThe Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are invited to nominate up to 6 works they have featured....
(1975, 1987, 1990) - Brandeis UniversityBrandeis UniversityBrandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
Distinguished Service Award (1982) - Guggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
(1982) - National Endowment for the ArtsNational Endowment for the ArtsThe National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
Fellowship (1985) - CASECase-Academia and education:* Campaign for Science and Engineering , a non-profit organization which promotes science and engineering research in the UK* Case analysis, division of a problem into separate cases...
Massachusetts State Professor of the Year (1987) - Sara TeasdaleSara TeasdaleSara Teasdale , was an American lyrical poet. She was born Sara Trevor Teasdale in St. Louis, Missouri, and after her marriage in 1914 she went by the name Sara Teasdale Filsinger.-Biography:...
Memorial Prize in Poetry (1987) - Sheaffer-PEN/New England Award for Literary Distinction (1988)
- MacArthur Fellowship (1989)
- National Book Critics CircleNational Book Critics CircleThe National Book Critics Circle is an American tax-exempt organization for active book reviewers. Its flagship is the National Book Critics Circle Award....
Award nominee (1992) - American Academy of Arts and SciencesAmerican Academy of Arts and SciencesThe American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
Fellow (1993) - Bollingen PrizeBollingen PrizeThe Bollingen Prize for Poetry, which is currently awarded every two years by Beinecke Library of Yale University, is a literary honor bestowed on an American poet in recognition of the best book of new verse within the last two years, or for lifetime achievement.-Inception and controversy:The...
(2009)
Reviews
I'd like to crown him one of our great Low Moderns; he's Wallace Stevens with stronger stories to anchor lame minds such as my own; he's Eliot without footnotes. Like all great poets, he faithfully serves both word and world -- and us.
James Longenbach:
Here is the inevitable mix of everything Grossman can offer: a lyric tenderness, the weight of learning, and a strangeness matched only by poets now dead so long that it's hard to imagine resurrecting their prophetic energies in the language of twenty-first century America. Hard to imagine, except that by embracing what he once disdained as the "dreary language of carnal origin," this is exactly what Grossman has accomplished. "Weird river," says the rising sun as it weeps, "flow on."
External references
- http://english.jhu.edu/profiles/agrossman.html
- http://www.allengrossman.com
- http://reginaldshepherd.blogspot.com/2007/02/on-allen-grossman.html
- Poetry readings and lectures at The University of Chicago, 18 Mar 2005, podcast