Mary Oppen
Encyclopedia
Mary Oppen was an American
activist, artist, photographer, poet and writer.
, she was raised in the Pacific Northwest and met George Oppen
in 1926 while both were students at Oregon State University
, Corvallis
. Although they were, respectively, suspended (George) and expelled (Mary) for staying out together overnight, they formed a serious commitment, eventually to be a lifetime bond. Together they travelled extensively and this began the succession of friendships and contacts out of which the poetry and politics of George and Mary Oppen grew.
Fifty years later in her autobiography Meaning A Life (1978), Mary Oppen took note of these times, observing:
and Louis Zukofsky
. During the 1930s the Oppens involved themselves in leftist political movements and joined the Communist Party USA
in 1935 after the seventh World Congress of the Communist Parties called for intellectuals to join in a united front against fascism
and war.
After World War II
, in which George Oppen was severely wounded at the Battle of the Bulge
, the Oppens were persecuted by the US government for their leftist activities during the Depression
. Rather than testify against friends and associates, the Oppens decided to flee to Mexico in 1950, where they found their way to Mexico City's United States emigre and refugee circle. In the late 1950s George Oppen began writing again after a 25-year hiatus and the Oppens soon relocated to New York City.
and also befriended many younger poets. The Opens continued to move around, once driving an amphibious car from Miami to New York. In the later part of the 1960s, the Oppens took up residence in the San Francisco Bay area, which is where George Oppen's family was largely based. For a time, they summered at Deer Isle, Maine
, where they entertained East Coast writers such as Theodore Enslin
, Rachel Blau DuPlessis
, Michael Heller
, and John Taggart
.
. By 1975 she was in the full-swing of the composition of her memoirs, eventually to published as Meaning a Life: An Autobiography by Black Sparrow Press in May, 1978. In this work, Mary Oppen makes apparent how completely she and George shared the risks, adventures and commitments of their itinerant and artistic life.
This included their harrowing, life-changing trip to Israel in September 1975. They had been invited by the Mayor of Jerusalem to be his guests at the Mishkenot Sha'ananim, a residence facing the walls of the Old City, for distinguished artists, writers and musicians from abroad. After their return from this trip, Mary noticed a decline of her husband in his health and a waning in his artistic authority. In 1977, she provided secretarial help so George could complete his final volume of poetry Primitive. According to Rachel Blau DuPlessis, this "help" was atypical of their practice and was related to George's decline. During this time, George's final illness begins to manifest itself with confusion, failing memory, and other losses. In 1980, the Montemora Foundation published her book Poems & Transpositions.
on July 7, 1984, aged 76. On December 3, 1987, his widow read from her autobiography at the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery.
at Alta Bates-Herrick Hospital in Berkeley, California
, aged 81. She had been living in Albany, California
. She is survived by a daughter, Linda.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
activist, artist, photographer, poet and writer.
George Oppen
Born as Mary Colby in Kalispell, MontanaKalispell, Montana
Kalispell is a city in and the county seat of Flathead County, Montana, United States. The 2010 census put Kalispell's population at 19,927 up 5,704 over 2000. At 40.1% this is the largest percentage of growth of any incorporated city in Montana. Kalispell is the largest city and commercial center...
, she was raised in the Pacific Northwest and met George Oppen
George Oppen
George Oppen was an American poet, best known as one of the members of the Objectivist group of poets. He abandoned poetry in the 1930s for political activism, and later moved to Mexico to avoid the attentions of the House Un-American Activities Committee...
in 1926 while both were students at Oregon State University
Oregon State University
Oregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are more than 200 academic degree programs offered through the...
, Corvallis
Corvallis, Oregon
Corvallis is a city located in central western Oregon, United States. It is the county seat of Benton County and the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton County. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 54,462....
. Although they were, respectively, suspended (George) and expelled (Mary) for staying out together overnight, they formed a serious commitment, eventually to be a lifetime bond. Together they travelled extensively and this began the succession of friendships and contacts out of which the poetry and politics of George and Mary Oppen grew.
Fifty years later in her autobiography Meaning A Life (1978), Mary Oppen took note of these times, observing:
Poetry, Activism, and World War II
After these initial peripatetic years together, they finally took up residence in New York City in the late 1920s. There they joined a circle of artists and writers, among whom were the poets Charles ReznikoffCharles Reznikoff
Charles Reznikoff was the poet for whom the term Objectivist was first coined. When asked by Harriet Munroe to provide an introduction to what became known as the Objectivist issue of Poetry, Louis Zukofsky provided his essay Sincerity and Objectification: With Special Reference to the Work of...
and Louis Zukofsky
Louis Zukofsky
Louis Zukofsky was an American poet. He was one of the founders and the primary theorist of the Objectivist group of poets and thus an important influence on subsequent generations of poets in America and abroad.-Life:...
. During the 1930s the Oppens involved themselves in leftist political movements and joined the Communist Party USA
Communist Party USA
The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
in 1935 after the seventh World Congress of the Communist Parties called for intellectuals to join in a united front against fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
and war.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, in which George Oppen was severely wounded at the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
, the Oppens were persecuted by the US government for their leftist activities during the Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. Rather than testify against friends and associates, the Oppens decided to flee to Mexico in 1950, where they found their way to Mexico City's United States emigre and refugee circle. In the late 1950s George Oppen began writing again after a 25-year hiatus and the Oppens soon relocated to New York City.
Return from exile
After a brief trip in 1958 to visit their daughter Linda at her university, the Oppens returned to New York in the early 1960s. Back in Brooklyn, George, who had started writing again towards the end of his time in Mexico, renewed old ties with his fellow ObjectivistsObjectivist poets
The Objectivist poets were a loose-knit group of second-generation Modernists who emerged in the 1930s. They were mainly American and were influenced by, amongst others, Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams...
and also befriended many younger poets. The Opens continued to move around, once driving an amphibious car from Miami to New York. In the later part of the 1960s, the Oppens took up residence in the San Francisco Bay area, which is where George Oppen's family was largely based. For a time, they summered at Deer Isle, Maine
Deer Isle, Maine
Deer Isle is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,876 at the 2000 census. Notable landmarks in Deer Isle are the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts and the town's many art galleries.-History:...
, where they entertained East Coast writers such as Theodore Enslin
Theodore Enslin
Theodore Vernon Enslin was an American poet associated with Cid Corman's Origin and press. He is widely regarded as one of the most musical of American avant-garde poets. Enslin was born in Chester, Pennsylvania. His father was a biblical scholar and his mother a Latin scholar...
, Rachel Blau DuPlessis
Rachel Blau DuPlessis
Rachel Blau DuPlessis an American poet and essayist, is known as a feminist critic and scholar with a special interest in modernist and contemporary poetry.-Life and work:...
, Michael Heller
Michael Heller (poet)
Michael Heller , is an American poet, essayist and critic. Among his many books are Exigent Futures, In The Builded Place, Wordflow and Living Root: A Memoir. He wrote the libretto for the opera, Benjamin, based on the life of Walter Benjamin...
, and John Taggart
John Taggart
John Taggart is an American poet and critic. He was born in Guthrie Center, Iowa. He graduated with honors in 1965 from Earlham College in Indiana, earning a B.A. in English Literature and Philosophy. In 1966 he received a M.A. in English Literature and Creative Writing from the University of...
.
Later years
In 1970 Mary Oppen resumed writing poems and continued painting and work in collageCollage
A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole....
. By 1975 she was in the full-swing of the composition of her memoirs, eventually to published as Meaning a Life: An Autobiography by Black Sparrow Press in May, 1978. In this work, Mary Oppen makes apparent how completely she and George shared the risks, adventures and commitments of their itinerant and artistic life.
This included their harrowing, life-changing trip to Israel in September 1975. They had been invited by the Mayor of Jerusalem to be his guests at the Mishkenot Sha'ananim, a residence facing the walls of the Old City, for distinguished artists, writers and musicians from abroad. After their return from this trip, Mary noticed a decline of her husband in his health and a waning in his artistic authority. In 1977, she provided secretarial help so George could complete his final volume of poetry Primitive. According to Rachel Blau DuPlessis, this "help" was atypical of their practice and was related to George's decline. During this time, George's final illness begins to manifest itself with confusion, failing memory, and other losses. In 1980, the Montemora Foundation published her book Poems & Transpositions.
Death of George Oppen
George Oppen, died of pneumonia preceded by Alzheimer's DiseaseAlzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
on July 7, 1984, aged 76. On December 3, 1987, his widow read from her autobiography at the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery.
Death of Mary Oppen
Mary Oppen died on May 14, 1990 of ovarian cancerOvarian cancer
Ovarian cancer is a cancerous growth arising from the ovary. Symptoms are frequently very subtle early on and may include: bloating, pelvic pain, difficulty eating and frequent urination, and are easily confused with other illnesses....
at Alta Bates-Herrick Hospital in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, aged 81. She had been living in Albany, California
Albany, California
Albany is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. The population was 18,539 at the 2010 census.-History:In 1908, a group of local women protested the dumping of Berkeley garbage in their community...
. She is survived by a daughter, Linda.
Artist, poet, writer, photographer
Several of her works have been exhibited. Mary Oppen was also a diligent photographer and hers is a record of a life shared among writers and artists only now achieving recognition. These photographs afford glimpses into the world which George and Mary Oppen inhabited—one which was not officially recorded by the arbiters of taste or by academics in a depoliticized postwar America. Prints, paintings and collages by Mary Oppen were included in the 19th National Exhibition of Prints at the Library of Congress in 1963.External links
- Register of Mary Oppen Paper at Mandeville Special Collections, UCSD
- Object Lessons: Andrea Brady on George Oppen's New Collected Poems includes a brief but insightful discussion of Mary.
- quotes from Mary Oppen's autobiography