Macha Louis Rosenthal (March 14, 1917 – July 21, 1996) 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 wri ...
,
critic,
editor, and teacher. The W. B. Yeats Society of New York renamed their award for achievement in Yeats studies the M. L. Rosenthal Award after Rosenthal's death. His 1959 essay, ''
Poetry as Confession 'Poetry as Confession' was an influential article written by M. L. Rosenthal, reviewing the poetry collection ''Life Studies'' by Robert Lowell. The review is credited with being the first application of the term of confession to an approach to ...
'', is credited with being the first application of the term 'confession' to the writing of poetry and therefore for the naming of the
confessional poetry
Confessional poetry or "Confessionalism" is a style of poetry that emerged in the United States during the late 1950s and early 1960s. It is sometimes classified as a form of Postmodernism. It has been described as poetry of the personal or "I", ...
movement.
Biography
Rosenthal was born in
Washington, D.C.
)
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, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
He earned his B.A. (1937) and M.A. (1938) degrees at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
. On January 7, 1939, he married Victoria Himmelstein, with whom he had three children: David, Alan, and Laura.
From 1939 to 1945, he taught as an instructor in English at
Michigan State University. In 1946, he was hired as an instructor 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, th ...
, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1949. In 1961, he served in the U.S. Cultural Exchange Program and was visiting specialist to
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
; in 1965, to
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
; in 1966, to
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
, and
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
; and in 1980, to
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
and
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. In 1974, he was a visiting poet in
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. From 1977 to 1979 he served as director of the Poetics Institute at New York University, where he was a professor of English until 1996.
Rosenthal was a fellow of the
American Council of Learned Societies and twice won
Guggenheim Fellowships (1960–1964). He contributed poems, articles, and reviews to such leading journals as ''
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 Statesman
The ''New Statesman'' is a British Political magazine, political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney Webb, Sidney and Beatrice ...
'', ''
Poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
'', ''
The Spectator
''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world.
It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...
'' (London), ''
ELH'', and ''
The Quarterly Review
The ''Quarterly Review'' was a literary and political periodical founded in March 1809 by London publishing house John Murray. It ceased publication in 1967. It was referred to as ''The London Quarterly Review'', as reprinted by Leonard Scott, f ...
''; he also served, from 1956–1961, as poetry editor of ''
The Nation
''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper t ...
''; from 1970-1978 as poetry editor of ''
The Humanist
''The Humanist'' is an American bi-monthly magazine published in Washington, DC. It was founded in 1941 by American Humanist Association. It covers topics in science, religion, media, technology, politics and popular culture and provides ethical ...
''; and from 1973-1990 as poetry editor of ''Present Tense''. He published numerous books of criticism and collections of verse and edited various anthologies of poetry.
In 1973 Rosenthal was one of the signers of the
Humanist Manifesto II
''Humanist Manifesto II'', written in 1973 by humanists Paul Kurtz and Edwin H. Wilson, was an update to the previous ''Humanist Manifesto'' published in 1933, and the second entry in the ''Humanist Manifesto'' series. It begins with a statem ...
.
M. L. Rosenthal died on July 21, 1996.
The Fales Library of NYU's guide to the M.L. Rosenthal Papers
Works
Poetry
* ''Blue Boy on Skates: Poems'' (1964)
* ''Beyond Power: New Poems'' (1969)
Essays and Reviews
* ''A primer of Ezra Pound'' (1960)
* ''Our Life in Poetry: Selected Essays and Reviews'' (1991)
* ''Running to Paradise: Yeats's Poetic Art'' (1994)
References
External links
* ttps://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituaries-professor-m-l-rosenthal-1309495.html Obituary in the Independent
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenthal, Macha Louis
1917 births
1996 deaths
20th-century American poets
20th-century American Jews
The Nation (U.S. magazine) people
Michigan State University faculty