“A Cataract Filming Over My Inner Eyes”
“A Cataract Filming Over My Inner Eyes”
1962-1967
This chapter details the life and career of Denise Levertov from 1962 to 1967. The 1960s was an auspicious time to be a poet. Poetry magazines, publishing houses, poetry readings, and writer-in-residence programs at colleges and universities proliferated, allowing for greater exposure for poets, especially for women, who previously had little opportunity for recognition of their talent. Levertov benefited from these circumstances. She was in demand as a poet, and in 1962, was granted a coveted Gugenheim Fellowship. In addition to its prestige, the accompanying monetary award allowed her some luxuries: a new washing machine, dryer, and dishwasher. Each made domestic life simpler. In 1963, with Gugenheim support ended, Levertov contributed to the family's finances through her poetry readings by working as poetry editor for the Nation, staying until early 1965, and by serving as a consultant first for Wesleyan University Press and a year later for W. W. Norton. Levertov also engaged in antiwar activities.
Keywords: Denise Levertov, women poets, Guggenheim Fellowship, poetry editor, Wesleyan University Press, W. W. Norton, antiwar protests
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