Léonie Adams
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Léonie Fuller Adams (December 9, 1899 – June 27, 1988) was an American
poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
. She was appointed the seventh
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 official poet of the United States. During their term, the poet laureate seeks to raise the national cons ...
in 1948.


Biography

Adams was born in
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, and raised in an unusually strict environment. She was not allowed on the subway until she was eighteen, and even then her father accompanied her. Her sister was the teacher and archaeologist
Louise Holland Louise Adams Holland (3 July 1893–21 June 1990) was a philologist, university teacher, academic and archaeologist. Early life and education Born in Brooklyn in New York State (it would not become part of New York City until five years late ...
and her brother-in-law the archaeologist Leicester Bodine Holland. She studied at
Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...
, where she was a contemporary and friend of roommate
Margaret Mead Margaret Mead (December 16, 1901 – November 15, 1978) was an American cultural anthropologist who featured frequently as an author and speaker in the mass media during the 1960s and the 1970s. She earned her bachelor's degree at Barnard Co ...
. While still an undergraduate, she showed remarkable skill as a poet, and at this time her poems began to be published. In 1924, she became the editor of ''The Measure''. Her first volume of poetry, titled ''Those Not Elect'', was in 1925. In the spring of 1928, she had a brief affair with
Edmund Wilson Edmund Wilson Jr. (May 8, 1895 – June 12, 1972) was an American writer and literary critic who explored Freudian and Marxist themes. He influenced many American authors, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, whose unfinished work he edited for publi ...
. Adams apologized to Wilson for having "moped and quarreled" on the day she left for France. While in London, Adams met
H.D. Hilda Doolittle (September 10, 1886 – September 27, 1961) was an American modernist poet, novelist, and memoirist who wrote under the name H.D. throughout her life. Her career began in 1911 after she moved to London and co-founded the ...
, who introduced her to several figures in the London literary scene; in Paris she was invited to tea by
Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the Allegheny West neighborhood and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris ...
. At the beginning of 1929, when Wilson wrote to her that he was thinking of marrying another woman, Adams wrote back that she had had a pregnancy and hinted that she had had a miscarriage, mentioning the need for a visit to a London doctor in October. Guilt over the pregnancy — both Wilson, and a former student, Judith Farr, reported that Adams had a gift for making others feel guilty — combined with his heavy drinking, and indecision in other elements of his personal life led Wilson to a nervous collapse.
Louise Bogan Louise Bogan (August 11, 1897 – February 4, 1970) was an American poet. She was appointed the fourth Poet Laureate to the Library of Congress in 1945, and was the first woman to hold this title. Throughout her life she wrote poetry, fiction, ...
later revealed to him that Léonie's pregnancy had been imaginary, and this caused a temporary rift between Bogan and Adams. In 1929, her volume ''High Falcon'' was published. During the 1930s, she lived in the
Ramapo Mountains The Ramapo Mountains are a forested chain of the Appalachian Mountains in northeastern New Jersey and southeastern New York, in the United States. They range in height from in New Jersey, and in New York. Several parks and forest preserves en ...
near
Hillburn, New York Hillburn, originally called "Woodburn" and incorporated in 1893, is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the town of Ramapo, New York, Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, Rockland County, New York (state), New York, United St ...
, and commuted to
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
to lecture on Victorian poetry at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...
. In 1930, she met writer and fellow New York University teacher William Troy. The two married in 1933. That same year she published ''This Measure''. In 1935 she and her husband joined the faculty of
Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont. Founded in 1932 as a women's college, it became co-educational in 1969. It claims to be the first college to include visual and performing arts as an equal partner in ...
. She taught English at various other colleges and universities including
Douglass College Douglass Residential College, is an undergraduate, non degree granting higher education program of Rutgers University-New Brunswick for women. It succeeded the liberal arts degree-granting Douglass College after it was merged with the other unde ...
(then known as the New Jersey College for Women), the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
, the
Bread Loaf Writers' Conference The Middlebury Bread Loaf Writers' Conference is an author's conference held every summer at the Bread Loaf Inn, near Bread Loaf Mountain, east of Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1926, it has been called by ''The New Yorker'' "the oldest and most p ...
,
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, and
Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York. The college models its approach to education after the Supervision system, Oxford/Cambridge system of one-on-one student-faculty tutorials. Sara ...
. The poets for whom Adams acted as a mentor included
Louise Glück Louise Elisabeth Glück ( ; born April 22, 1943) is an American poet and essayist. She won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature, whose judges praised "her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal". He ...
, recipient of the 2020
Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...
and former
United States Poet Laureate The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress—commonly referred to as the United States Poet Laureate—serves as the official poet of the United States. During their term, the poet laureate seeks to raise the national cons ...
. Fantasy writer, poet and editor
Lin Carter Linwood Vrooman Carter (June 9, 1930 – February 7, 1988) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor, poet and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft (for an H. P. L ...
attended her Poetry Workshop while studying at Columbia University.
Marcella Comès Winslow Marcella Comès Winslow (born Marcella Rodange Comès; September 3, 1905 – July 6, 2000) was an American photographer and portrait painter. She was the official portrait painter of the United States Poet Laureate. Life and education Marcella ...
painted a portrait of Adams in 1947. In 1950, she received an honorary doctorate from the New Jersey College for Women. Her ''Poems: A Selection'' won the 1954
Bollingen Prize The Bollingen Prize for Poetry is a literary honor bestowed on an American poet in recognition of the best book of new verse within the last two years, or for lifetime achievement.
. In a review of the book, Louise Bogan wrote: "Poems such as "Companions of the Morass," "For Harvest," "Grapes Making," and "The Runner with the Lots" spring from and are indications of a poetic endowment as deep as it is rare." In 1955, in a brief autobiography written for a biographical dictionary of modern literature, Adams threw a little light on her religious and political views: "My father... made me a childhood agnostic — I am now a Roman Catholic.... I am a very liberal democrat." In 1988, she died at the age of 88 in
New Milford, Connecticut New Milford is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town is in western Connecticut, north of Danbury, on the banks of the Housatonic River, and it shares its border with the northeastern shore of Candlewood Lake. It is t ...
.


Poetic style

Superficially, Léonie Adams' style did not change greatly over her lifetime, but there was an initial shy wonder at the world that eventually became an intense and almost devotional lyricism. Her rich descriptions demonstrated great delicacy of perception and an exalted spirit. She bore comparison with
Henry Vaughan Henry Vaughan (17 April 1621 – 23 April 1695) was a Welsh metaphysical poet, author and translator writing in English, and a medical physician. His religious poetry appeared in ''Silex Scintillans'' in 1650, with a second part in 1655.''Oxfor ...
and 17th century
metaphysical poetry The term Metaphysical poets was coined by the critic Samuel Johnson to describe a loose group of 17th-century English poets whose work was characterised by the inventive use of conceits, and by a greater emphasis on the spoken rather than lyric ...
, especially in her near-religious ecstasy. In a mid-2000s critical commentary for the WOM-PO (Discussion of Women's Poetry) website, poet
Annie Finch Annie Finch (born October 31, 1956) is an American poet, critic, editor, translator, playwright, and performer and the editor of the first major anthology of literature about abortion. Her poetry is known for its often incantatory use of rhythm, ...
provided a more postmodern reading of Adams as "a lush, sensual poet who directed her sensuality not towards other people but primarily towards the materials of poetry, towards syntax and symbol, diction and word-sound, in short, towards the language itself," and went on to say that "Adams' poetry teases the balance between the incantatory and representational powers of poetic language. She uses the sounds of language as counterweights to her poems' ostensible meanings, complicating the act of reading and calling into question a reader's emotional responses."


Prizes and awards

* 1954: the Bollingen Prize for ''Poems: A Selection (1954)'' * 1974: Academy Fellowship from the Academy of American Poets * the Shelley Memorial Award * fellowship from The Guggenheim Foundation * grants from The National Council of the Arts and The National Institute of Arts and Letters,


Poetry collections

*''Those Not Elect,'' Robert M. McBride & Co, 1925; Reprint Services Corp, 1992, *''High Falcon and Other Poems,'' John Day, New York, 1929. *''Midsummer,'' Ward Ritchie, 1929 *''This Measure,'' A. A. Knopf, 1933 *''Poems: A selection,'' Funk & Wagnalls, 1954


Edited and translated

*''The Lyrics of Francois Villon'', Limited Editions Club, New York, 1933.


Children's books


"A casque for Amadis,"
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1928.
"The tale of Tenjin : or how a much-abused man became a saint,"
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1928.


Anthologies

* *


References


External links

* Léonie Adams and William Troy Papers. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
Brief Note at Library of Congress siteAcademy of American Poets entry
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Leonie 1899 births 1988 deaths American women poets American Poets Laureate Catholics from New York (state) Barnard College alumni Bennington College faculty Bollingen Prize recipients Converts to Roman Catholicism from atheism or agnosticism Poets from New York (state) Sarah Lawrence College faculty 20th-century American poets 20th-century American women writers Writers from Brooklyn American women academics Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters