Walter Potashnik Benton (October 27, 1904 – March 7, 1976) was an American poet and writer. Benton was born to Russian immigrant parents living in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. The family left Europe in 1913 to relocate to the United States during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. During the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, Benton worked various odd jobs, enabling him to attend

Ohio University Ohio University is a public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation and subse ...

, where he graduated in 1934. Afterwards, he was employed as a social investigator by New York City and then served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. After the war he returned to his job in New York City while pursuing a career as a writer. His work was published in '' Yale Review'', '' Saturday Review of Literature'', ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'', ''

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 hu ...

'' and several other publications. His two books of poetry are his best-known works. ''This Is My Beloved'' was published in 1943 and has become one of the best-selling books of poetry. This volume was followed by another book of love poems, entitled ''Never a Greater Need'', that was published in 1948. Benton suffered a massive stroke c. 1965 and was cared for by his niece Jeannette until he had to be placed in a nursing home, where he died in 1976. The American poet and singer

Rod McKuen Rodney Marvin McKuen (; April 29, 1933 – January 29, 2015) was an American poet, singer-songwriter, and actor. He was one of the best-selling poets in the United States during the late 1960s. Throughout his career, McKuen produced a wide range ...

has said that his most romantic poetry was influenced by Benton's two books of poems.

''This Is My Beloved''

His book of poems addressed to "Lillian" was written in diary form. It was described in 1949 as "forthright love poems" and said to be "the best-selling poetry volume of recent years" having sold 350,000 copies at that time.

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

issued it as the company's first 33-rpm long-playing album in March 1949, with the poem narrated by John Dall and scored for a 28 piece orchestra and 16 voice chorus. The jazz musician

Arthur Prysock Arthur Prysock Jr. (January 1, 1924 According to his obituary in ''The New York Times'', "his heavy, deep voice projected a calm, reassuring virility." Life and career Prysock was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Many sources give his bir ...

read verses from Benton's book of poems against a jazz instrumental backdrop on his 1968 album ''This Is My Beloved''. Other recorded versions of the poems from ''This Is My Beloved'' were a 1956 narration by Alfred Ryder with a musical score by

Vernon Duke Vernon Duke ( 16 January 1969) was a Russian-born American composer/songwriter who also wrote under his birth name, Vladimir Dukelsky. He is best known for " Taking a Chance on Love," with lyrics by Ted Fetter and John Latouche (1940), "I Can' ...

and another in 1962 by

Laurence Harvey Laurence Harvey (born Zvi Mosheh Skikne; 1 October 192825 November 1973) was a Lithuanian-born British actor and film director. He was born to Lithuanian Jewish parents and emigrated to South Africa at an early age, before later settling in th ...

accompanied by Herbie Mann.

Bibliography

Poetry

* ''This Is My Beloved'' (1943).

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

. * ''Never a Greater Need'' (1948).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Benton, Walter 1904 births 1976 deaths American writers of Russian descent 20th-century American poets Austro-Hungarian emigrants to the United States