Maxine Kumin
Encyclopedia
Maxine Kumin is an American poet and author. She was appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress
in 1981-1982.
. In June 1946 she married Victor Kumin, an engineering consultant; they have two daughters and a son. In 1957, she studied poetry with John Holmes at the Boston Center for Adult Education. There she met Anne Sexton
, with whom she started a friendship that continued until Sexton's suicide in 1974. Kumin taught English from 1958 to 1961 and 1965 to 1968 at Tufts University
; from 1961 to 1963 she was a scholar at the Radcliffe Institute for Independent Study. She has also held appointments as a visiting lecturer and poet in residence at many American colleges and universities. Since 1976, she and her husband have lived on a farm in Warner
, New Hampshire
, where they breed Arabian and quarter horses.
(1973) for Up Country, the Aiken Taylor Prize, the 1994 Poets' Prize
(for Looking for Luck), an American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters Award for excellence in literature (1980), an Academy of American Poets fellowship (1986), the 1999 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize
, and six honorary degrees. In 1981-1982, she served as the poetry consultant to the Library of Congress.
Critics have compared Kumin with Elizabeth Bishop
because of her meticulous observations and with Robert Frost
, for she frequently devotes her attention to the rhythms of life in rural New England
. She has been grouped with confessional poets such as Anne Sexton
, Sylvia Plath
, and Robert Lowell
. But unlike the confessionalists, Kumin eschews high rhetoric and adopts a plain style. Throughout her career Kumin has struck a balance between her sense of life's transience and her fascination with the dense physical presence of the world around her. She served as the 1985 judge of the Brittingham Prize in Poetry
and she selected Patricia Dobler
's Talking To Strangers.
She currently teaches poetry in New England College's Low-Residency MFA Program. She is also a contributing editor at The Alaska Quarterly Review
. Together with fellow-poet Carolyn Kizer
, she first served on and then resigned from the board of chancellors of the Academy of American Poets, an act that galvanized the movement for opening this august body to broader representation by women and minorities.
co-written with Anne Sexton
:
Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress
The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress—commonly referred to as the United States Poet Laureate—serves as the nation's official poet. During his or her term, the Poet Laureate seeks to raise the national consciousness to a greater appreciation of the reading and writing of...
in 1981-1982.
Early years
Born in Philadelphia, Maxine Winokur, the daughter of Jewish parents, attended Catholic kindergarten and lower schools. She received her B.A. in 1946 and her M.A. in 1948 from Radcliffe CollegeRadcliffe 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...
. In June 1946 she married Victor Kumin, an engineering consultant; they have two daughters and a son. In 1957, she studied poetry with John Holmes at the Boston Center for Adult Education. There she met Anne Sexton
Anne Sexton
Anne Sexton was an American poet, known for her highly personal, confessional verse. She won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1967...
, with whom she started a friendship that continued until Sexton's suicide in 1974. Kumin taught English from 1958 to 1961 and 1965 to 1968 at Tufts University
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
; from 1961 to 1963 she was a scholar at the Radcliffe Institute for Independent Study. She has also held appointments as a visiting lecturer and poet in residence at many American colleges and universities. Since 1976, she and her husband have lived on a farm in Warner
Warner, New Hampshire
Warner is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,833 at the 2010 census. The town is home to The College of Saint Mary Magdalen, Rollins State Park and Mount Kearsarge State Forest....
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, where they breed Arabian and quarter horses.
Career
Kumin's many awards include the Eunice Tietjens Memorial Prize for Poetry (1972), the Pulitzer Prize for PoetryPulitzer Prize for Poetry
The Pulitzer Prize in Poetry has been presented since 1922 for a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author. However, special citations for poetry were presented in 1918 and 1919.-Winners:...
(1973) for Up Country, the Aiken Taylor Prize, the 1994 Poets' Prize
Poets' Prize
The Poets' Prize is awarded annually for the best book of verse published by a living American poet two years prior to the award year. The $3000 annual prize is donated by a committee of about 20 American poets, who each nominate two books and who also serve as judges...
(for Looking for Luck), an American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters Award for excellence in literature (1980), an Academy of American Poets fellowship (1986), the 1999 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...
, and six honorary degrees. In 1981-1982, she served as the poetry consultant to the Library of Congress.
Critics have compared Kumin with Elizabeth Bishop
Elizabeth Bishop
Elizabeth Bishop was an American poet and short-story writer. She was the Poet Laureate of the United States from 1949 to 1950, a Pulitzer Prize winner in 1956 and a National Book Award Winner for Poetry in 1970. Elizabeth Bishop House is an artists' retreat in Great Village, Nova Scotia...
because of her meticulous observations and with Robert Frost
Robert Frost
Robert Lee Frost was an American poet. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. His work frequently employed settings from rural life in New England in the early twentieth century, using them to examine complex social and...
, for she frequently devotes her attention to the rhythms of life in rural New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
. She has been grouped with confessional poets such as Anne Sexton
Anne Sexton
Anne Sexton was an American poet, known for her highly personal, confessional verse. She won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1967...
, Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. Born in Massachusetts, she studied at Smith College and Newnham College, Cambridge before receiving acclaim as a professional poet and writer...
, and 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 where he served from 1947 until 1948...
. But unlike the confessionalists, Kumin eschews high rhetoric and adopts a plain style. Throughout her career Kumin has struck a balance between her sense of life's transience and her fascination with the dense physical presence of the world around her. She served as the 1985 judge of the Brittingham Prize in Poetry
Brittingham Prize in Poetry
The Brittingham Prize in Poetry is a major United States literary award for a book of poetry chosen from an open competition.The prize, established in 1985, is sponsored by the English Department at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and is selected by a nationally recognized poet, The winner is...
and she selected Patricia Dobler
Patricia Dobler
Patricia Dobler was an American poet.Born Patricia Averdick in Middletown, Ohio, she completed her BA in political science at St. Xavier College in Chicago, then married the writer Bruce Dobler in 1961...
's Talking To Strangers.
She currently teaches poetry in New England College's Low-Residency MFA Program. She is also a contributing editor at The Alaska Quarterly Review
The Alaska Quarterly Review
The Alaska Quarterly Review is a biannual literary journal founded in 1980 by Ronald Spatz and James Liszka at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Ronald Spatz serves as editor-in-chief...
. Together with fellow-poet Carolyn Kizer
Carolyn Kizer
Carolyn Ashley Kizer is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet of the Pacific Northwest whose works reflect her feminism.-Life and work:...
, she first served on and then resigned from the board of chancellors of the Academy of American Poets, an act that galvanized the movement for opening this august body to broader representation by women and minorities.
Poetry collections
- Where I Live: New and Selected Poems 1990-2010, W. W. Norton, 2010
- Still To Mow, W. W. Norton, 2007
- Jack and Other New Poems, W.W. Norton, 2005
- Bringing Together: Uncollected Early Poems 1958-1988, W.W. Norton, 2003
- The Long Marriage, W.W.Norton, 2001, cloth, paper; finalist for the Lenore Marshall Award of the Academy of American Poets, 2002
- Selected Poems 1960-1990, W.W. Norton, 1997 cloth; paper ; New York Times notable book of the year
- Connecting the Dots, W.W. Norton, 1996 cloth, paper
- Looking for Luck, W.W. Norton, 1992 cloth; paper
- Nurture, Viking/ Penguin 1989, o. o. p.
- The Long Approach, Viking /Penguin, 1985-6, o.o.p.
- Our Ground Time Here Will Be Brief, New and Selected Poems, Viking/Penguin 1982, o. o. p.
- The Retrieval System, Viking/Penguin, 1978, o.o.p.
- House, Bridge, Fountain, Gate, Viking/ Penguin, 1975, o.o.p.
- Up Country, Harper & Row, 1972, o.o.p.
- The Nightmare Factory, Harper & Row, 1970, o.o.p.
- The Privilege, Harper & Row, 1965, o.o.p.
- Halfway, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1961, o.o.p.
Novels
- Quit Monks or Die (animal rights mystery), Story Line Press, 1999
- The Designated Heir, Viking, 1974, o.o.p.; Andre Deutsch (England) o.o.p.
- The Abduction, Harper & Row, 1971, o.o.p.
- The Passions of Uxport, Harper & Row, 1968, Dell paper, 1969, o.o.p.
- Through Dooms of Love, Harper & Row, 1965; Hamish Hamilton & Gollancz (England), Panther paper, o.o.p.
Essays and short story collections
- Why Can't We Live Together Like Civilized Human Beings? Viking 1982, o.o.p.
- Always Beginning: Essays on a Life in Poetry, Copper Canyon PressCopper Canyon PressCopper Canyon Press is an independent, non-profit small press, specializing in the publication of poetry and located in the picturesque town of Port Townsend, Washington. Since 1972, the Press has published poetry exclusively and has established an international reputation for its commitment to...
, 2000 - Inside the Halo and Beyond, W. W. Norton Co., 1999
- Women, Animals, and Vegetables: Essays and Stories, Norton, 1994, o.o.p.; Ontario Review Press, paper, 1996
- In Deep: Country Essays, Viking 1987, o.o.p.; Beacon Press 1988, o.o.p.
- To Make a Prairie: Essays on Poets, Poetry and Country Living, University of Michigan Press, 1980 paper
- Telling the Barn Swallow: Poets on the Poetry of Maxine Kumin, ed. by Emily Grosholz, University Press of New England, 1997
Children's Books
- 1961 Follow the Fall (illustrated by Artur Marokvia)
- 1961 Spring Things (illustrated by Artur Marokvia)
- 1961 Summer Story (illustrated by Artur Marokvia)
- 1961 A Winter Friend (illustrated by Artur Marokvia)
- 1962 Mittens in May (illustrated by Elliott Gilbert)
- 1964 Sebastian and the Dragon (illustrated by William D. Hayes)
- 1964 Speedy Digs Downside Up (illustrated by Ezra Jack KeatsEzra Jack KeatsEzra Jack Keats , Caldecott-winning author of The Snowy Day, was one of the most important children's literature authors and illustrators of the 20th Century....
) - 1967 Faraway Farm (illustrated by Kurt Werth)
- 1969 When Grandmother Was Young (illustrated by Don AlmquistDon AlmquistDon Almquist is an American painter and illustrator.Almquist was born in Hartford, Connecticut. He was the son of Nils Herbert Almquist and Jeannette Perrow...
) - 1971 When Great-Grandmother Was Young (illustrated by Don Almquist)
- 1984 The Microscope (illustrated by Arnold LobelArnold LobelArnold Stark Lobel was a popular American author of children's books. Among his most popular books are those of the Frog and Toad series, and Mouse Soup, which won the Garden State Children's Book Award from the New Jersey Library Association.Lobel won the 1981 Caldecott Medal for his book...
) - 2006 Mites to Mastodons (illustrated by Pam Zagarenski)
co-written with Anne Sexton
Anne Sexton
Anne Sexton was an American poet, known for her highly personal, confessional verse. She won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1967...
:
- 1963 Eggs of Things (illustrated by Leonard Shortall)
- 1964 More Eggs of Things (illustrated by Leonard Shortall)
- 1974 Joey and the Birthday Present (illustrated by Evaline Ness)
- 1975 The Wizard's Tears (illustrated by Evaline Ness)
External links
- Maxine Kumin: a reading from the 2010 Key West Literary Seminar (15:45)
- Kumin at American Modern Poetry
- Kumin's Academy Of American Poets' page
- Christian Science Monitor interview
- Maxine Kumin's Official Web Site
- Maxine Kumin and Wesley McNair Poems read by the authors in a 75 minute video from the U.S. Library of Congress.
- Audio: Maxine Kumin reads "Looking Back in my Eighty-First Year" from the book Still to mow (via poemsoutloud.net)
- Kumin profile
- Kumin profile and poems written and audio