- Born:
- August 11, 1897, Livermore Falls, Maine, U.S.
- Died:
- February 4, 1970, New York, New York (aged 72)
- Awards And Honors:
- Bollingen Prize (1954)
Louise Bogan
-
Who was Louise Bogan?
Louise Bogan (1897–1970) was an American poet and literary critic, known for her work as the poetry critic for The New Yorker from 1931 to 1969 and as the first woman to be a consultant in poetry to the Library of Congress (now U.S. poet laureate) from 1945 to 1946.
Her poems appeared in The New Republic, and her first volume, Body of This Death, was published in 1923. Bogan's poetry is often compared to that of English Metaphysical poets because of its restrained, intellectual style, compressed diction, and formal concerns. She is considered one of America’s premier lyric poets and received many awards.
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What type of writing is Louise Bogan best known for?
Louise Bogan, an American poet and literary critic, is best known as one of America’s premier lyric poets. Her poems appeared in The New Republic, and her first volume, Body of This Death, was published in 1923. Bogan would continue to contribute verse and criticism to periodicals while publishing Dark Summer (1929), The Sleeping Fury (1937), and Poems and New Poems (1941).
Her poetry is often compared to that of English Metaphysical poets because of its restrained and intellectual style, compressed diction and imagery, and formal concerns. As a critic, Bogan was known for her fairness and generosity.
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What are some common themes in Louise Bogan's poetry?
Louise Bogan, an American poet and literary critic, is known for her work as the poetry critic for The New Yorker from 1931 to 1969 and for serving as the first woman consultant in poetry to the Library of Congress from 1945–46.
Bogan's poetry, which appeared in The New Republic and other periodicals, is often compared to that of the English Metaphysical poets because of its restrained and intellectual style, compressed diction and imagery, and formal concerns. However, her poetry is also modern, deeply personal, and immediate. As a critic, she was known for her fairness and generosity.
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How did Louise Bogan influence American poetry?
Louise Bogan significantly impacted American poetry through her work as a poet and critic. As a poet, her work, characterized by a restrained, intellectual style and compressed diction and imagery, earned her recognition as one of the major American poets of her time. Her poems appeared in The New Republic, and in 1923 her first volume appeared under the title Body of This Death.
Bogan's influence extended to her role as a critic, most notably as the poetry critic for The New Yorker from 1931 to 1969. In this position, she was known for her fairness and generosity, emphasizing the strengths of authors in her critiques. Bogan was also the first woman to be a consultant in poetry to the Library of Congress from 1945–46.
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What are some of Louise Bogan's most famous works, and why are they important?
Louise Bogan, a prominent American poet and literary critic, is known for her contributions to The New Yorker as a poetry critic from 1931 to 1969 and for being the first woman to be a consultant in poetry to the Library of Congress.
Her notable works include Body of This Death (1923), which was her first published volume, Dark Summer (1929), The Sleeping Fury (1937), and Poems and New Poems (1941). Bogan's poetry is often compared to that of the English Metaphysical poets because of its restrained and intellectual style, compressed diction and imagery, and formal concerns, setting her apart as a major American poet of her time.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Louise Bogan (born August 11, 1897, Livermore Falls, Maine, U.S.—died February 4, 1970, New York, New York) was an American poet and literary critic who served as poetry critic for The New Yorker from 1931 until 1969. She was the first woman (1945–46) to serve as consultant in poetry to the Library of Congress (a role now known as U.S. poet laureate).
Background
Bogan was born in a mill town, where her father was a clerk in a pulp mill. Her mother was given to having extramarital affairs and to disappearing for lengthy periods. The family moved often, seeking happiness and prosperity. Bogan attended a convent school and Boston’s Girls’ Latin School, where she received a classical education and faced prejudice against the Irish (she was told that she could never be editor of the school magazine). She then attended Boston University but left school after a year, in 1916, to marry a soldier, Kurt Alexander. They had a daughter, Maidie, the following year.
Alexander was posted to Panama late in World War I, and after a brief, unhappy sojourn there Bogan and their daughter returned to the United States and moved in with her parents. Four years later she was left a widow after Alexander died from pneumonia. She married the poet Raymond Holden in 1925, but the marriage ended in divorce in the mid-1930s. Afterward she had a brief, happy love affair with the poet Theodore Roethke. Bogan became his mentor on lyric poetry, and they were to remain friends.
Poetry and criticism
Bogan’s poems were first published in The New Republic, and in 1923 her first volume appeared under the title Body of This Death. She continued to contribute both verse and criticism to The New Republic, The Nation, The New Yorker, Poetry, The Atlantic Monthly, and other periodicals while publishing Dark Summer (1929), The Sleeping Fury (1937), and Poems and New Poems (1941). Her verse has been frequently compared to that of the English Metaphysical poets in its restrained, intellectual style, its compressed diction and imagery, and its formal concerns. Yet it is modern, both deeply personal and immediate.
Bogan was accounted one of the major American poets of her time, and she is still considered one of the country’s premier lyric poets. She received many prestigious awards. In 1944 she was a fellow in American letters at the Library of Congress, beginning her tenure there as consultant in poetry the following year. In 1968 Bogan was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She was a frequent lecturer or visiting professor at American colleges and universities.
As a critic, Bogan was known for her fairness and generosity, and she focused on the strengths of authors in works such as Achievement in American Poetry, 1900–1950 (1951) and Selected Criticism: Prose, Poetry (1955).
Bogan’s later works include The Blue Estuaries: Poems 1923–1968 (1968) and A Poet’s Alphabet (1970). She translated The Journal of Jules Renard (1964) and Goethe’s Elective Affinities (1963) and The Sorrows of Young Werther (1971). Her letters to literary figures such as Roethke, Edmund Wilson, and May Sarton appear in What the Woman Lived: Selected Letters of Louise Bogan, 1920–1970 (1973), edited by Ruth Limner, who also structures various writings and conversations of Bogan in Journey Around My Room: The Autobiography of Louise Bogan: A Mosaic (1980).
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