Rosmarie Waldrop
Encyclopedia
Rosmarie Waldrop is a contemporary American poet, translator and publisher. Born in Germany
, she has lived in the United States
since 1958. She has lived in Providence, Rhode Island
since the late 1960s. Waldrop is coeditor and publisher of Burning Deck Press
, as well as the author or coauthor (as of 2006) of 17 books of poetry, two novels, and three books of criticism.
am Main on August 24, 1935. Towards the end of the Second World War, she joined a travelling theatre, but returned to school after in early 1946. At school, she studied piano and flute and played in a youth orchestra. At Christmas 1954, the orchestra gave a concert for American soldiers stationed at Kitzingen. Afterwards, one of the audience, Keith Waldrop
invited members of the orchestra to listen to his records. He and Rosmarie became friendly and worked together over the next few months, translating German poetry into English
.
, where she studied literature
, art history
and musicology
. In 1955, she transferred to the University of Freiburg
, where she discovered the writings of Robert Musil
and participated in a protest against a lecture given by Heidegger
. She then moved to the University of Aix-Marseille
, where Keith spent 1956-7 on his GI Bill. At the end of the year, he returned to the University of Michigan
. In 1958, he won a Major Hopwood Prize
. He sent most of the money to Rosmarie to pay for her passage to the United States.
in 1966. She also became extremely active in literary, musical and artistic circles around the university and the wider Ann Arbor
community. She began serious translation of French
and German poetry. In 1961
, the Waldrops bought a secondhand printing press and started Burning Deck Magazine. This was the beginning of Burning Deck, which was to become one of the most influential small press publishers of innovative poetry in the United States. As such, she is sometimes closely associated with the Language School
.
in the early 1970s, where she came into contact with leading avant garde French poets, including Claude Royet-Journoud
, Anne-Marie Albiach
, and Edmond Jabès
. These writers influenced her own work, but equally, she became one of the main translators of their work into English and Burning Deck one of the main vehicles for introducing their work to an English-language readership.
in 2006. She received the 2008 PEN Award for Poetry in Translation
for her translation of Ulf Stolterfoht's book Lingos I - IX.
Series,Vol.1, No.3 (April 1997)
Readings and talks (audiofiles)
Others on Waldrop including reviews, criticism, and retrospectives
Interviews
Work online including poems and essays
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, she has lived in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
since 1958. She has lived in Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
since the late 1960s. Waldrop is coeditor and publisher of Burning Deck Press
Burning Deck Press
Burning Deck is a small press specializing in the publication of experimental poetry and prose. Burning Deck was founded by the writers Keith Waldrop and Rosmarie Waldrop in 1961.-Overview:...
, as well as the author or coauthor (as of 2006) of 17 books of poetry, two novels, and three books of criticism.
Early life in Germany
Waldrop was born in KitzingenKitzingen
Kitzingen is a town in the German state of Bavaria, capital of the district Kitzingen. It is part of Franconia geographical region and has around 21,000 inhabitants.Surrounded by vineyards, Kitzingen County is the largest wine producer in Bavaria...
am Main on August 24, 1935. Towards the end of the Second World War, she joined a travelling theatre, but returned to school after in early 1946. At school, she studied piano and flute and played in a youth orchestra. At Christmas 1954, the orchestra gave a concert for American soldiers stationed at Kitzingen. Afterwards, one of the audience, Keith Waldrop
Keith Waldrop
Keith Waldrop is the author of numerous books of poetry and prose, and has translated the work of Claude Royet-Journoud, Anne-Marie Albiach, and Edmond Jabès, among others. A recent translation is Charles Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du Mal .With his wife Rosmarie Waldrop, he co-edits Burning Deck Press...
invited members of the orchestra to listen to his records. He and Rosmarie became friendly and worked together over the next few months, translating German poetry into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
.
University years
That same year, she entered the University of WürzburgUniversity of Würzburg
The University of Würzburg is a university in Würzburg, Germany, founded in 1402. The university is a member of the distinguished Coimbra Group.-Name:...
, where she studied literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, art history
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
and musicology
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
. In 1955, she transferred to the University of Freiburg
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg , sometimes referred to in English as the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.The university was founded in 1457 by the Habsburg dynasty as the...
, where she discovered the writings of Robert Musil
Robert Musil
Robert Musil was an Austrian writer. His unfinished long novel The Man Without Qualities is generally considered to be one of the most important modernist novels...
and participated in a protest against a lecture given by Heidegger
Martin Heidegger
Martin Heidegger was a German philosopher known for his existential and phenomenological explorations of the "question of Being."...
. She then moved to the University of Aix-Marseille
University of Aix-Marseille
Aix-Marseille University is a public university in France created by the merger of the University of Provence, the University of the Mediterranean and the Paul Cézanne University...
, where Keith spent 1956-7 on his GI Bill. At the end of the year, he returned to the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
. In 1958, he won a Major Hopwood Prize
Hopwood Award
The Hopwood Awards are a major scholarship program at the University of Michigan, founded by Avery Hopwood.Under the terms of the will of Avery Hopwood, a prominent American dramatist and member of the Class of 1905 of The University of Michigan, one-fifth of Mr. Hopwood's estate was given to the...
. He sent most of the money to Rosmarie to pay for her passage to the United States.
In the United States
The couple married, and Rosmarie started studying at Michigan, where she got a Ph.D.Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in 1966. She also became extremely active in literary, musical and artistic circles around the university and the wider Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
community. She began serious translation of French
French poetry
French poetry is a category of French literature. It may include Francophone poetry composed outside France and poetry written in other languages of France.-French prosody and poetics:...
and German poetry. In 1961
1961 in poetry
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* January 20–Robert Frost recites his poem "The Gift Outright" at United States President John F...
, the Waldrops bought a secondhand printing press and started Burning Deck Magazine. This was the beginning of Burning Deck, which was to become one of the most influential small press publishers of innovative poetry in the United States. As such, she is sometimes closely associated with the Language School
Language school
A language school is a school where one studies a foreign language. Classes at a language school are usually geared towards, but not limited to, communicative competence in a foreign language...
.
Poetry and translations
Rosmarie Waldrop started publishing her own poetry in English in the late 1960s. Since then, she has published over three dozen books of poetry, prose and translation. Today her work is variously characterized as verse experiment, philosophical statement and personal narrative. Of the many formative influences on her mature style, a crucial influence was a year spent in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in the early 1970s, where she came into contact with leading avant garde French poets, including Claude Royet-Journoud
Claude Royet-Journoud
Claude Royet-Journoud is a contemporary French poet and artist living in Paris .-Overview:Royet-Journoud's publications in French include his tetralogy, published between 1972 and 1997: Le Renversement, La Notion d'Obstacle, Les Objets contiennent l'infini, and Les Natures indivisibles...
, Anne-Marie Albiach
Anne-Marie Albiach
Anne-Marie Albiach is a contemporary French poet and translator.-Overview:Anne-Marie Albiach's poetry is characterized by, among other things, an inventive use of spacing on the printed page...
, and Edmond Jabès
Edmond Jabes
----Edmond Jabès was a Jewish writer and poet, and one of the best known literary figures to write in French after World War II.- Life :...
. These writers influenced her own work, but equally, she became one of the main translators of their work into English and Burning Deck one of the main vehicles for introducing their work to an English-language readership.
Awards and achievements
Rosmarie Waldrop has given readings and published in many parts of Europe as well as the U.S. She has received numerous awards and fellowships and was made a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government. In 2003 she was awarded a grant from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award. She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and SciencesAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
in 2006. She received the 2008 PEN Award for Poetry in Translation
PEN Award for Poetry in Translation
The PEN Award for Poetry in Translation honors a poetry translation published in the preceding year.The award is separate from the similar PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize.-Winners:-See also:*American poetry*List of poetry awards...
for her translation of Ulf Stolterfoht's book Lingos I - IX.
Poetry
- The Aggressive Ways of the Casual Stranger, NY: Random House, 19721972 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* John Betjeman becomes Poet Laureate...
- The Road Is Everywhere or Stop This Body, Columbia, MO: Open Places, 19781978 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E Magazine, edited by Bruce Andrews and Charles Bernstein, first published...
- When They Have Senses, Providence: Burning Deck, 19801980 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Mark Jarman and Robert McDowell started the small magazine The Reaper to promote narrative and formal poetry....
- Nothing Has Changed, Windsor, VT: Awede Press, 19811981 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Jane Greer launched Plains Poetry Journal, an advance guard of the New Formalism movement....
- Differences for Four Hands, Philadelphia: Singing Horse, 19841984 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:*December 19 - Philip Larkin turns down the British Poet Laureateship, and Ted Hughes becomes Poet Laureate....
; repr. Providence: Paradigm Press, 1999 - Streets Enough to Welcome Snow, Barrytown, NY: Station Hill, 19861986 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* New American Writing, an annual literary magazine concentrating on poetry, is founded in Chicago, Illinois....
- The Reproduction of Profiles, NY: New Directions, 19871987 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Charles Bukowski, fictionalised as alter ego Henry Chinaski, becomes the subject of the film Barfly starring Mickey Rourke....
- Shorter American Memory, Providence: Paradigm Press, 19881988 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* The first annual The Best American Poetry volume is published this year....
- Peculiar Motions, Berkeley, CA: Kelsey St. Press, 19901990 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Allen Ginsberg crowned "Majelis King" in Prague on May Day...
- Lawn of the Excluded Middle, NY: Tender Buttons, 19931993 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* January 20 — Maya Angelou reads "On the Pulse of Morning" at the inauguration of President Bill Clinton* T. S...
- A Key Into the Language of AmericaA Key Into the Language of AmericaA Key into the Language of America is a book written by Roger Williams in 1643 describing the Native American languages in New England in the 17th century...
, NY: New Directions, 19941994 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Allen Ginsberg sells his papers to Stanford University for $1 million.* C. P... - Another Language: Selected Poems, Jersey City: Talisman House, 19971997 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:*January 20 — Miller Williams of Arkansas reads his poem, "Of History and Hope," at President Clinton's inauguration....
- Split Infinites, Philadelphia: Singing Horse Press, 19981998 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Samizdat poetry magazine founded in Chicago .* Skanky Possum poetry magazine founded in Austin, Texas....
- Reluctant Gravities, NY: New Directions, 19991999 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* July 1 — Scotland's Parliament opened with the singing of Robert Burns' "A Man's a Man For A'That", instead of "God Save The Queen"...
- (with Keith Waldrop) Well Well Reality, Sausalito, CA: The Post-Apollo Press, 19981998 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Samizdat poetry magazine founded in Chicago .* Skanky Possum poetry magazine founded in Austin, Texas....
- Love, Like Pronouns, Omnidawn Publishing, 20032003 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* The Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry was opened at Queens University, Belfast, this year. It houses the Heaney Media Archive, a unique record of Heaney's entire oeuvre, as well as a full catalogue of...
- Blindsight, New York: New Directions, 20042004 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* April 1 — Foetry.com Web site is launched for the announced purpose of "Exposing fraudulent contests. Tracking the sycophants...
- Splitting Image, Zasterle, 20062006 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* French public notary Patrick Huet unveils Pieces of Hope to the Echo of the World in Lyon...
- Curves to the Apple, New Directions, 20062006 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* French public notary Patrick Huet unveils Pieces of Hope to the Echo of the World in Lyon...
Fiction
- The Hanky of Pippin's Daughter, Barrytown, NY: Station Hill, 1986
- A Form/ of Taking/ It All, Barrytown, NY: Station Hill, 1990
Essays and criticism
- Against Language?, The Hague: Mouton/Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1971
- The Ground Is the Only Figure: Notebook Spring 1996, Providence: The Impercipient Lecture
Series,Vol.1, No.3 (April 1997)
- Lavish Absence: Recalling and Rereading Edmond Jabès, Wesleyan University Press, 2002
- Dissonance (if you are interested), University Alabama Press, 2005
Translations
- The Book of Questions by Edmond Jabès, 7 vols. bound as 4, Wesleyan UP, 1976, 1977, 1983, 1984
- From a Reader's Notebook, by Alain Veinstein, Annex PressAnnex PressANNEX PRESS is an experimental small press founded in 1973 by Julian Kabza, publisher, editor. In the 1970s and 80's, Annex published work of new music documentation, conceptual art and texts by French, Russian and American experimental writers: Bob Perelman, Blue Gene Tyranny, Ron Silliman,...
, Ithaca New York, 1983 - Paul Celan: Collected Prose, by Paul CelanPaul CelanPaul Celan was a poet and translator...
, Manchester & NY: Carcanet & Sheep Meadow, 1986 - The Book of Dialogue by Edmond Jabès, Wesleyan UP, 1987
- Late Additions: Poems by Emmanuel HocquardEmmanuel HocquardEmmanuel Hocquard is a French poet who grew up in Tangier, Morocco. He served as the editor of the small press Orange Export Ltd., and, with Claude Royet-Journoud, edited two anthologies of new American poets, 21+1: Poètes américains ď aujourďhui and 49+1...
(with Connell McGrath), Peterborough, Cambs.: Spectacular Diseases, 1988 - The Book of Shares by Edmond Jabès, Chicago UP, 1989
- Some Thing Black by Jacques RoubaudJacques RoubaudJacques Roubaud is a French poet and mathematician.Jacques Roubaud is a professor of poetry at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, and he was a professor of Mathematics at University of Paris X...
, Elmwood Park, IL: Dalkey Archive, 1990 - The Book of Resemblances by Edmond Jabès, 3 vols., Wesleyan UP, 1990, 91, 92
- From the Book to the Book by Edmond Jabès, Wesleyan UP, 1991
- The Book of Margins by Edmond Jabès, Chicago UP, 1993
- A Foreigner Carrying in the Crook of His Arm a Tiny Book by Edmond Jabès, Wesleyan UP, 1993
- Heiligenanstalt by Friederike MayröckerFriederike MayröckerFriederike Mayröcker is an Austrian poet.- Life :From 1946 to 1969 Mayröcker was an English teacher at several public schools in Vienna. In 1969 she took a release from working as a teacher and in 1977 she retired early.She started writing as a 15 year old...
, Providence: Burning Deck, 1994 - The Plurality of Worlds of Lewis by Jacques Roubaud, Normal, IL: Dalkey Archive Press, 1995
- Mountains in Berlin: Selected Poems by Elke Erb, Providence: Burning Deck, 1995
- The Little Book of Unsuspected Subversion by Edmond Jabès, Stanford UP, 1996
- With Each Clouded Peak by Friederike Mayröcker (with Harriett Watts), Los Angeles, CA: Sun & Moon Press, 1998
- A Test of Solitude by Emmanuel Hocquard, Providence: Burning Deck, 2000
- (with Harry MathewsHarry MathewsHarry Mathews is an American author of various novels, volumes of poetry and short fiction, and essays.-Life:Born in New York City to an upper class family, Mathews was educated at private schools there and at the Groton School in Massachusetts before enrolling at Princeton University in 1947...
and Christopher MiddletonChristopher Middleton (poet)Christopher Middleton is a British poet and translator, especially of German literature.-Life:He was born in Truro, Cornwall, in 1926. He studied at Merton College, Oxford. He then held academic positions at the University of Zürich and King's College London. He became Professor of Germanic...
) Many Glove Compartments by Oskar PastiorOskar PastiorOskar Pastior was a Romanian-born German poet and translator. He was the only German member of Oulipo....
, Providence: Burning Deck, 2001 - Desire for a Beginning Dread of One Single End by Edmond Jabès (Images & Design by Ed Epping), New York, New York : Granary Books, 2001
- The Form of a City Changes Faster, Alas, Than the Human Heart by Jacques Roubaud, Dalkey Archive Press; Translation edition, 2006 ISBN 1-56478-383-9
Further reading
Rosmarie & Keith Waldrop: Ceci n'e pas Keith Ceci n'e pas Rosmarie: Autobiographies, (Providence, Rhode Island, 2002)External links
Exhibits, sites, and homepages- Rosmarie Waldrop at the Electronic Poetry Center (EPC)
- Rosmarie Waldrop Exhibit at the Academy of American Poets
- Burning Deck
Readings and talks (audiofiles)
Others on Waldrop including reviews, criticism, and retrospectives
- Apples of Discourse by poet by Ben LernerBen LernerBenjamin S. Lerner is an American poet, novelist, and critic. He was awarded the Hayden Carruth prize for his cycle of fifty-two sonnets, . In 2004, Library Journal named it one of the year's twelve best books of poetry...
in Jacket upon the publication of Waldrop's Curves to the Apple, which gathers her trilogy of prose poems into one volume - Rosmarie Waldrop: Dictionary of Literary Biography v.169 (1996) includes "Bibliographical Information", "Biographical and Critical Essay", and "Further Readings about the Author". The piece's author notes: "Written in 1994-1995, the entry does not take into account Rosmarie Waldrop's substantial accomplishments since that time".
Interviews
- 12 or 20 questions: with Rosmarie Waldrop this interview first appeared on-line January 11, 2008 and includes many indispensable links
- A Conversation between Joan Retallack and Rosmarie Waldrop see Joan RetallackJoan RetallackJoan Retallack is an American poet, critic, biographer, and multi-disciplinary scholar.-Life and work:Joan Retallack received her B.A. from the University of Illinois, Urbana and her M.A. from Georgetown University...
for further information
Work online including poems and essays
- Between Tongues: An Interview / & 5 Poems on this page, scroll down to 17 Dec 2005 for links to her work