Linda Pastan
Encyclopedia
Linda Pastan is an American
poet
of Jewish background. From 1991–1995 she was Poet Laureate of Maryland. She is known for writing short poems that address topics like family life, domesticity, motherhood, the female experience, aging, death, loss and the fear of loss, as well as the fragility of life and relationships.
Pastan has published at least 12 books of poetry and a number of essays. Her awards include the Dylan Thomas
Award, a Pushcart Prize
, the Alice Fay di Castagnola Award (Poetry Society of America
), the Bess Hokin Prize (Poetry Magazine), the 1986 Maurice English Poetry Award (for A Fraction of Darkness), the Charity Randall Citation of the International Poetry Forum, and the 2003 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize
. She also received the Radcliffe College
Distinguished Alumnae Award.
Two of her collections of poems were nominated for the National Book Award
and one for the Los Angeles Times
Book Prize.
As of 2011, she lives in Potomac, Maryland
with her husband Ira Pastan
, an accomplished physician and researcher.
She is also the mother of novelist Rachel Pastan
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
of Jewish background. From 1991–1995 she was Poet Laureate of Maryland. She is known for writing short poems that address topics like family life, domesticity, motherhood, the female experience, aging, death, loss and the fear of loss, as well as the fragility of life and relationships.
Pastan has published at least 12 books of poetry and a number of essays. Her awards include the Dylan Thomas
Dylan Thomas
Dylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 January 2008. who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself...
Award, a Pushcart Prize
Pushcart Prize
The 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....
, the Alice Fay di Castagnola Award (Poetry Society of America
Poetry Society of America
The Poetry Society of America is a literary organization founded in 1910 by poets, editors, and artists including Witter Bynner. It is the oldest poetry organization in the United States. Past members of the have included such renowned writers as Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Edna St. Vincent...
), the Bess Hokin Prize (Poetry Magazine), the 1986 Maurice English Poetry Award (for A Fraction of Darkness), the Charity Randall Citation of the International Poetry Forum, and the 2003 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize
Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize
The Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize is awarded annually by The Poetry Foundation; the Foundation also publishes Poetry. The Prize was established in 1986 by Ruth Lilly. The prize honors a living U.S. poet whose "lifetime accomplishments warrant extraordinary recognition"; its value is presently $100,000...
. She also received the Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was the coordinate college for Harvard University. It was also one of the Seven Sisters colleges. Radcliffe College conferred joint Harvard-Radcliffe diplomas beginning in 1963 and a formal merger agreement with...
Distinguished Alumnae Award.
Two of her collections of poems were nominated for the National Book Award
National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
and one for the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
Book Prize.
As of 2011, she lives in Potomac, Maryland
Potomac, Maryland
Potomac is a census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, named for the nearby Potomac River. The population was 44,822 at the 2000 census. The Potomac area is known for its very affluent and highly-educated residents. In 2009 CNNMoney.com listed Potomac as the fourth...
with her husband Ira Pastan
Ira Pastan
thumb|rightIra Pastan is an American scientist. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the AAAS and the American Society of Microbiology. In 2009, he was awarded the prestigious International Antonio Feltrinelli Prize for Medicine...
, an accomplished physician and researcher.
She is also the mother of novelist Rachel Pastan
Works
- 1971 A Perfect Circle of Sun. ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
: Swallow Press Inc. - 1975 Aspects of Eve. New YorkNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
: Liveright. - 1978 Marks.
- 1978 The Five Stages of Grief. New York: W. W. Norton & Co.W. W. NortonW. W. Norton & Company is an independent American book publishing company based in New York City. It is well known for its "Norton Anthologies", particularly the Norton Anthology of English Literature and the "Norton Critical Editions" series of texts which are frequently assigned in university...
- 1980 Setting the Table Dryad PressDryad PressDryad Press is an independent literary press based in the Takoma Park, MD and San Francisco, CA.The press was founded in the November 1967 by Merrill Leffler and Neil Lehrman with the first issue of Dryad...
. - 1981 Waiting For My Life. New York: W. W. Norton & Co
- 1982 PM / AM. New York: W. W. Norton & Co.
- 1985 A Fraction of Darkness. New York: W. W. Norton & Co.
- 1988 The Imperfect Paradise. New York: W. W. Norton & Co.
- 1991 Heroes in Disguise. New York: W. W. Norton & Co.
- 1995 An Early Afterlife. New York: W. W. Norton & Co.
- 1998 Carnival Evening. New and Selected Poems: 1968 – 1998. New York: W. W. Norton & Co.
- 2001 The Last Uncle. New York: W. W. Norton & Co.
- 2006 Queen of a Rainy Country. Poems. W. W. Norton & Co.
- 2011 Traveling Light. New York W. W. Norton & Co.
External links
- Interview with Linda Pastan. Brown, Jeffrey. 2003. "Conversation: Pastan". In: The NewsHour with Jim LehrerThe NewsHour with Jim LehrerPBS NewsHour is an evening television news program broadcast weeknights on the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States. The show is produced by MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, a company co-owned by former anchors Jim Lehrer and Robert MacNeil, and Liberty Media, which owns a 65% stake in the...
. (7 July 2003). Online NewsHour. - Poetry Reading by Linda Pastan at the 10th Beall Poetry Festival, Baylor University, Waco, Texas (2 April 2004).
- Beall Poetry Festival: Panel including Denis Donoghue, Galway Kinnell and Linda Pastan, Baylor University, Waco, Texas (3 April 2004).
- Poetry Reading by Linda Pastan at the National Book Festival 2004, Washington D.C. (October 2004).
- Linda Pastan on Norton Poets Online
- A Selection of Poems by Linda Pastan
- Linda Pastan: Online Poems at alittlepoetry.com
- Audio: Linda Pastan reads "why are your poems so dark?" from the book Queen of a Rainy Country (via poemsoutloud.net)