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Al Alvarez (born London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
, August 5, 1929) is an English
English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England who speak English language in England. The English identity as a people is of early medieval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn....
 poet
Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry....
, writer and critic
Critic

The word critic comes from the Greek language ' , "able to discern", which in turn derives from the word ' , meaning a person who offers reasoned judgment or analysis, value judgment, interpretation, or observation....
 who publishes under the name A. Alvarez and Al Alvarez.

Born Alfred Alvarez, he was educated at Oundle School
Oundle School

Oundle School is a premier Independent school located in the ancient market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire, England. The school has been maintained by the Worshipful Company of Grocers of the City of London since its foundation in 1556, making it one of the oldest surviving public schools in the country....
 and Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College, Oxford

Corpus Christi College is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the twelfth oldest college in Oxford, with an estimated financial endowment of ?58m as of 2006....
, where he took a First in English. After teaching briefly in Oxford and the USA, he became a fulltime writer in his late twenties. From 1956 to 1966, he was the poetry editor and critic for The Observer
The Observer

The Observer is a United Kingdom newspaper published on Sundays. In about the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, it takes a Liberalism/social democratic line on most issues....
, where he introduced British readers to John Berryman
John Berryman

John Allyn Berryman was an United States poet, born in McAlester, Oklahoma, Oklahoma. He was a major figure in American poetry in the second half of the 20th century and often considered one of the founders of the Confessional poetry school of poetry....
, Robert Lowell
Robert Lowell

Robert Traill Spence Lowell IV was an American poet, considered the founder of the confessional poetry movement. He was appointed the sixth Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1946....
, Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath was an United States poet, novelist and short story writer.Known primarily for her poetry, Plath also wrote a semi-autobiographical novel, The Bell Jar, under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas....
, Zbigniew Herbert
Zbigniew Herbert

Zbigniew Herbert was an influential Poland poet, essayist, drama writer, author of plays, and moralist. A member of the Polish resistance movement ? Home Army during World War II, he is one of the best known and the most translated post-war Polish writers....
, and Miroslav Holub
Miroslav Holub

Miroslav Holub was a Czech Republic poet and Immunology.Miroslav Holub's work was heavily influenced by his experiences as an Immunologist, writing many poems utilising his scientific knowledge to poetic effect....
.

Alvarez is the author of many non-fiction books.






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Al Alvarez (born London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
, August 5, 1929) is an English
English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England who speak English language in England. The English identity as a people is of early medieval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn....
 poet
Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry....
, writer and critic
Critic

The word critic comes from the Greek language ' , "able to discern", which in turn derives from the word ' , meaning a person who offers reasoned judgment or analysis, value judgment, interpretation, or observation....
 who publishes under the name A. Alvarez and Al Alvarez.

Born Alfred Alvarez, he was educated at Oundle School
Oundle School

Oundle School is a premier Independent school located in the ancient market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire, England. The school has been maintained by the Worshipful Company of Grocers of the City of London since its foundation in 1556, making it one of the oldest surviving public schools in the country....
 and Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College, Oxford

Corpus Christi College is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the twelfth oldest college in Oxford, with an estimated financial endowment of ?58m as of 2006....
, where he took a First in English. After teaching briefly in Oxford and the USA, he became a fulltime writer in his late twenties. From 1956 to 1966, he was the poetry editor and critic for The Observer
The Observer

The Observer is a United Kingdom newspaper published on Sundays. In about the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, it takes a Liberalism/social democratic line on most issues....
, where he introduced British readers to John Berryman
John Berryman

John Allyn Berryman was an United States poet, born in McAlester, Oklahoma, Oklahoma. He was a major figure in American poetry in the second half of the 20th century and often considered one of the founders of the Confessional poetry school of poetry....
, Robert Lowell
Robert Lowell

Robert Traill Spence Lowell IV was an American poet, considered the founder of the confessional poetry movement. He was appointed the sixth Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1946....
, Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath was an United States poet, novelist and short story writer.Known primarily for her poetry, Plath also wrote a semi-autobiographical novel, The Bell Jar, under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas....
, Zbigniew Herbert
Zbigniew Herbert

Zbigniew Herbert was an influential Poland poet, essayist, drama writer, author of plays, and moralist. A member of the Polish resistance movement ? Home Army during World War II, he is one of the best known and the most translated post-war Polish writers....
, and Miroslav Holub
Miroslav Holub

Miroslav Holub was a Czech Republic poet and Immunology.Miroslav Holub's work was heavily influenced by his experiences as an Immunologist, writing many poems utilising his scientific knowledge to poetic effect....
.

Alvarez is the author of many non-fiction books. He is best known for his study of suicide, The Savage God, which gained added resonance from his friendship with Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath was an United States poet, novelist and short story writer.Known primarily for her poetry, Plath also wrote a semi-autobiographical novel, The Bell Jar, under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas....
. He has also written on divorce (Life After Marriage), dreams (Night), and the oil industry (Offshore), as well as his hobbies of poker (The Biggest Game In Town) and mountaineering (Feeding the Rat, a profile of his frequent climbing partner Mo Anthoine
Mo Anthoine

Julian Vincent "Mo" Anthoine was a United Kingdom mountaineering who climbed extensively in the Himalayas in the 1970s and 80s.Born in Kidderminster, he left King Charles I School aged sixteen to become a trainee manager in the carpet industry....
). His 1999 autobiography is entitled Where Did It All Go Right?

His 1962 poetry anthology The New Poetry
The New Poetry

The New Poetry was a poetry anthology edited by Al Alvarez, published in 1962 in poetry and in a revised edition in 1966. It was greeted at the time as a significant review of the post-war scene in English poetry....
 was hailed at the time as a fresh departure. It championed the American style
Poetry of the United States

The poetry of the United States arose first during its beginnings as the United States Constitution unified thirteen colonies . Unsurprisingly, most of the early colonists' work relied on contemporary English poetry of meter , diction, and theme ....
, in relation to the perceived excessive 'gentility' of British poetry
British poetry

British poetry is a term rarely used, as almost all poets of the British world are clearly identified with one of the various nations within those areas....
 of the time.

Alvarez was portrayed by Jared Harris
Jared Harris

Jared Francis Harris is an England actor....
 in the 2003 film
Film

Film encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the film industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or special effects....
 Sylvia, which chronicles the troubled relationship between Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath was an United States poet, novelist and short story writer.Known primarily for her poetry, Plath also wrote a semi-autobiographical novel, The Bell Jar, under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas....
 and her husband Ted Hughes
Ted Hughes

Edward James Hughes Order of Merit was an England poet and Children's literature, known as Ted Hughes. Critics routinely rank him as one of the best poets of his generation....
.

Selected works

  • The Shaping Spirit (1958)
  • The School of Donne (1961)
  • The New Poetry' (1962)
  • Under Pressure (1965)
  • Beyond All This Fiddle (1968)
  • The Savage God (1972)
  • Samuel Beckett (1973)
  • Hers (1974)
  • Hunt (1979)
  • Life After Marriage (1982)
  • The Biggest Game in Town (1983)
  • Feeding the Rat (1989)
  • Day of Atonement (1991)
  • Night (1995)
  • Where Did It All Go Right? (1999)
  • Poker: Bets, Bluffs, and Bad Beats (2001)
  • New & Selected Poems (2002)
  • The Writer's Voice (2005)
  • Risky Business (2007)


See also

  • Confessional poetry
  • List of British Jews
    List of British Jews

    List of British Jews is a list that includes Jewish people from the United Kingdom and its predecessor states.Although the first Jews may have arrived on the island of Great Britain with the Ancient Rome, it wasn't until the Norman Conquest of William the Conqueror in 1066 that organised Jewish communities first appeared in England....


External links