Louis Osborne Coxe (April 15, 1918 – May 25, 1993) was an American poet, playwright, essayist, and professor who was recognized by the

Academy of American Poets The Academy of American Poets is a national, member-supported organization that promotes poets and the art of poetry. The nonprofit organization was incorporated in the state of New York in 1934. It fosters the readership of poetry through outreach ...

for his "long, powerful, quiet accomplishment, largely unrecognized, in lyric poetry." He was probably best known for his dramatic adaptation of

Herman Melville Herman Melville ( born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are ''Moby-Dick'' (1851); ''Typee'' (1846), a rom ...

's '' Billy Budd'', which opened on Broadway in 1951.

Early life and education

Born in

Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester is a city in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. It is the most populous city in New Hampshire. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 115,644. Manchester is, along with Nashua, one of two seats of New Ha ...

in 1918 but raised in

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

(where his family had lived since 1640), Coxe was educated at St. Paul's School. He graduated from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

in 1940, writing his senior thesis on

Edwin Arlington Robinson Edwin Arlington Robinson (December 22, 1869 – April 6, 1935) was an American poet and playwright. Robinson won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry on three occasions and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature four times. Early life Robin ...

Career

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Coxe served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, commanding the U.S.S. PC-549 in the South Pacific Theater during the Northern

Solomon Islands campaign The Solomon Islands campaign was a major campaign of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign began with Japanese landings and occupation of several areas in the British Solomon Islands and Bougainville, in the Territory of New Guinea, ...

and the invasion of Guam and

invasion of Saipan The Battle of Saipan was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Saipan in the Mariana Islands from 15 June to 9 July 1944 as part of Operation Forager. It has been referred to as the "Pacific D-Day" with the ...

-Tinian (and later the U.S.S. PC-1195), an experience that would shape much of his poetry. After leaving active service in 1946, he married Edith Winsor, granddaughter of Boston financier Robert Winsor, and began teaching at Princeton. He was Briggs-Copeland Fellow at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

from 1948 to 1949, and from 1949 to 1955, he taught at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

. Coxe then moved to Bowdoin College in

Brunswick, Maine Brunswick is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 21,756 at the 2020 United States Census. Part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area, Brunswick is home to Bowdoin College, the Bowdoin Intern ...

in 1956, where he remained (except for brief appointments at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, and the

University of Aix-Marseilles Aix-Marseille University (AMU; french: Aix-Marseille Université; formally incorporated as ''Université d'Aix-Marseille'') is a public research university located in the Provence region of southern France. It was founded in 1409 when Louis II of ...

, France) as head of the English department until his death in 1993 after 11 years suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

Recognition

Coxe received his largest critical recognition for his dramatic adaptation, with Robert Chapman, of

's morality tale Billy Budd, which opened to critical acclaim on Broadway in 1951, winning both the

Donaldson Awards The Donaldson Awards were a set of theatre awards established in 1944 by the drama critic Robert Francis (critic), Robert Francis in honor of W. H. Donaldson (1864–1925), the founder of ''The Billboard'' (now ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' ...

and the Outer Critics Circle Award for best play. The

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

Brooks Atkinson Justin Brooks Atkinson (November 28, 1894 – January 14, 1984) was an American theatre critic. He worked for '' The New York Times'' from 1922 to 1960. In his obituary, the ''Times'' called him "the theater's most influential reviewer of hi ...

called it "extraordinarily well done," and said that "the tragic portions are written with taste, firmness and intelligence." Coxe was also credited with co-writing the screenplay for Peter Ustinov's film version of the play. He wrote several other plays, most for local productions in Maine, one of which, "Decoration Day" (about Civil War general

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (born Lawrence Joshua Chamberlain, September 8, 1828February 24, 1914) was an American college professor from Maine who volunteered during the American Civil War to join the Union Army. He became a highly respected a ...

), was published as a book along with his long narrative poem "Nikal Seyn." He was also praised for his criticism, writing books on both

Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...

and

. But Coxe's main focus was his poetry, which U.S. Poet Laureate

Howard Nemerov Howard Nemerov (March 1, 1920 – July 5, 1991) was an American poet. He was twice Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, from 1963 to 1964 and again from 1988 to 1990. For ''The Collected Poems of Howard Nemerov'' (1977) ...

called "terse, cryptic, almost savage in their beauty." Much of his work focused on his experience during World War II and the natural environment of his native New England. Several of his poems, reviews and essays appeared first in

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...

Paris Review ''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published works by Jack Kerouac, Phil ...

, and Atlantic Monthly. In 1972 the Maine State Commission on the Arts and Humanities presented him with a Maine State Award for his significant contributions to the cultural life of Maine. He was named the 36th fellow of the

in 1977 and was awarded a creative writing grant from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

that same year. One of the last poems he published, "Nightsong" (1983), was featured in the anthology ''Fifty Years of American Poetry''.

Bibliography

Poetry

* ''The Sea Faring and Other Poems'' (1947) * ''The Second Man and Other Poems'' (1955) * ''The Wilderness and Other Poems'' (1958) * ''The Middle Passage'' (1960) * ''The Last Hero and Other Poems'' (1965) * ''Nikal Seyn & Decoration Day: A Poem and a Play'' (1966) * ''Passage: Selected Poems 1943–1978'' (1979) * ''The North Well'' (1985)

Plays

* '' Billy Budd'' (1949) * ''Nikal Seyn & Decoration Day: A Poem and a Play'' (1966) * ''Birth of a State''

Criticism

* ''Chaucer,'' part of the Laurel Poetry Series (editor, along with introduction and notes) (1963) * ''Edwin Arlington Robinson; The Life of Poetry'' (1969) * ''Enabling Acts: Selected Essays in Criticism'' (1976)

Awards

Best Play, 1951 * Outer Critics Circle Award Best Play, 1951 * Maine State Award, 1972 *

creative writing grant, 1977 *

Fellowship, 1977

References

External links

Louis O. Coxe, 75; His Poems Reflected New England Roots, by Marvine Howe. New York Times, May 28, 1993

Obituary: Louis Osborne Coxe. Saint Paul's School Alumni Horae Autumn 1993, Volume 73, Issue 3, Page 223
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coxe, Louis Osborne 1918 births 1993 deaths Writers from Manchester, New Hampshire Princeton University alumni Harvard Fellows Poets from Maine Bowdoin College faculty Writers from Brunswick, Maine Gardiner family 20th-century American poets 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male dramatists and playwrights American male poets 20th-century American male writers St. Paul's School (New Hampshire) alumni People from Salem, Massachusetts