Photograph of Jarrell in 1956

Randall Jarrell (May 06, 1914 – October 14, 1965), was a United States poet, novelist, critic, children's author and essayist. Image File history File links Jarrell_Randall. ... May 6 is the 126th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (127th in leap years). ... Year 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 287th day of the year (288th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... Sappho and Alcaeus of Mytilene, by Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1881). ... A novel is an extended work of written, narrative, prose fiction, usually in story form; the writer of a novel is a novelist. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... An essayist is an author who writes compositions which can be about any particular subject. ...

Life

Jarrell was a native of Nashville, Tennessee and graduated from Vanderbilt University. At Vanderbilt, he was acquainted with poets of the Fugitives group. Jarrell followed critic John Crowe Ransom from Vanderbilt to Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, where Jarrell wrote a masters thesis on the poetry of Alfred Edward Housman, and roomed with poet Robert Lowell. He taught at Kenyon College, the University of Texas, the University of Illinois, Sarah Lawrence College, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was married to second wife Mary von Schrader from 1952 until his death. Nashville redirects here. ... Vanderbilt redirects here. ... The Fugitives were a group of poets and literary scholars who came together at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee around 1920. ... John Crowe Ransom (April 30, 1888, Pulaski, Tennessee- July 3, 1974, Gambier, Ohio) was an American poet, essayist, social and political theorist, man of letters, and academic. ... Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, founded in 1824 by Bishop Philander Chase of the The Episcopal Church, in parallel with the Bexley Hall seminary. ... Alfred Edward Housman (March 26, 1859 - April 30, 1936), usually known as A.E. Housman, was an English poet and classical scholar, now best known for his cycle of poems A Shropshire Lad. ... Robert Lowell (March 1, 1917–September 12, 1977), born Robert Traill Spence Lowell, IV, was a highly regarded mid-twentieth-century American poet. ... Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, founded in 1824 by Bishop Philander Chase of the The Episcopal Church, in parallel with the Bexley Hall seminary. ... University of Texas redirects here. ... A Corner of Main Quad The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, or simply Illinois), is the oldest, largest, and most prestigious campus in the University of Illinois system. ... Sarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college located in metropolitan New York City, about a thirty-minute train ride north of Manhattan. ... The University of North Carolina at Greensboro is a public university in Greensboro, North Carolina and is a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina system. ... The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public, coeducational, research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. ...

On October 14, 1965, while walking along a road in Chapel Hill near dusk, Jarrell was struck by a car and killed. The coroner ruled the death accidental, but Jarrell had recently been treated for mental illness and a previous suicide attempt. In 2004, the Metropolitan Nashville Historical Commission approved placement of a historical marker in his honor, to be placed at Hume-Fogg High School, which he attended. Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... Nickname: Location in North Carolina Coordinates: , Country State Counties Orange, Durham, and Chatham Founded 1793 Government  - Mayor Kevin C. Foy Area  - City  19. ... For other uses, see Suicide (disambiguation). ... Hume-Fogg Academic High School is a public high school located in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. ...

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro has an extensive Randall Jarrell Collection which "includes over two thousand manuscript items and books relating to one of the mid-20th century's most important American poets and critics."[1]

Recently, community activists proposed to name a new elementary school in Greensboro in honor of Jarrell, but some parents protested. The name change was defeated 7-2 by the school board, and the schools was named Northern Elementary instead.

Career

His first collection of poetry, Blood from a Stranger, was published in 1942 — the same year he enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps. He failed to qualify as a pilot, however, and instead worked for the Army stateside as a control tower operator. His second and third books, Little Friend, Little Friend (1945) and Losses (1948), drew heavily on his Army experiences, dealing with the fears and moral struggles of soldiers. The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner is a particularly famous Jarrell poem in this vein. During this period, however, he earned a reputation primarily as a critic, rather than as a poet. Encouraged by Edmund Wilson, who published Jarrell's criticism in The New Republic, Jarrell quickly became a fiercely humorous critic of fellow poets. In the post-war period, his criticism began to change, showing a more positive emphasis. His appreciations of Robert Lowell, Elizabeth Bishop, and William Carlos Williams helped to establish their reputations as significant American poets. He is also noted for his essays on Robert Frost — whose poetry was a large influence on Jarrell's own — Walt Whitman, Marianne Moore, Wallace Stevens, and others, which were mostly collected in Poetry and the Age (1953). Many scholars consider him the most astute poetry critic of his generation. The author and poet Peter Levi gave this advice to young writers in 1979: Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... Look up loss, lose in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner is a five-line poem by Randall Jarrell. ... Edmund Wilson (May 8, 1895 – June 12, 1972) was an American writer, noted chiefly for his literary criticism. ... For other uses, see New Republic. ... Robert Lowell (March 1, 1917–September 12, 1977), born Robert Traill Spence Lowell, IV, was a highly regarded mid-twentieth-century American poet. ... Elizabeth Bishop (February 8, 1911 – October 6, 1979), was an American poet and writer. ... William Carlos Williams Dr. William Carlos Williams (sometimes known as WCW) (September 17, 1883 – March 4, 1963), was an American poet closely associated with modernism and Imagism. ... Robert Lee Frost (March 26, 1874 – January 29, 1963) was an American poet. ... Walter Whitman (May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, journalist, and humanist. ... Marianne Moore photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1948 Marianne Moore (December 11, 1887 - February 5, 1972) was a Modernist American poet and writer. ... Wallace Stevens Wallace Stevens (October 2, 1879 – August 2, 1955) was a major American Modernist poet. ... Year 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Peter Levi (1931 – 2000) was a British poet, scholar and writer. ...

Steer clear of writing departments of universities. Steer clear of English. Learn foreign, preferably dead languages, but learn them properly. Do not be a wastrel, don’t just hand about the world. Poetry is about life. The quality of your poetry will be the quality of your life. And you can’t regulate that by a knob. Read. Get or get near a very good library. Take more notice of Randall Jarrell than you do of any academic critic. Don’t spend time attacking other writers. Dig to the bottom of your mind, and don’t give two damns about publications."^[1]

His reputation as a poet was not established until 1960, when his National Book Award-winning collection The Woman at the Washington Zoo was published. His final volume, The Lost World, published in 1966, cemented that reputation; many critics consider it his best work. The book's subject, one of Jarrell's favorites, is childhood. Jarrell also published a satiric novel, Pictures from an Institution, in 1954 (nominated for 1955 National Book Award) — drawing upon his teaching experiences at Sarah Lawrence College, which served as the model for the fictional Benton College — and several children's stories, among which The Bat-Poet (1964) and The Animal Family (1965) are considered prominent. He translated poems by Rainer Maria Rilke and others, a play by Anton Chekhov, and several Grimm fairy tales. He served as Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress — a position today known as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry — from 1956-1958. Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The National Book Awards is one of the most preeminent literary prizes in the United States. ... Year 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. ... Pictures from an Institution is a novel by American poet Randall Jarrell. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar). ... Sarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college located in metropolitan New York City, about a thirty-minute train ride north of Manhattan. ... Rainer Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926) is considered one of the German languages greatest 20th century poets. ... Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (Russian: , IPA: ) was a Russian short story writer and playwright. ... Grimm could mean: Brothers Grimm, collectors of German fairy tales Grimms Fairy Tales, the collected tales Grimms Fairy Tale Classics, a cartoon based on their tales Grimm (film), a 2003 Dutch film directed by Alex van Warmerdam Grimm (band), a folk metal band from the Dutch provence Brabant... A fairy tale is a story, either told to children or as if told to children, concerning the adventures of mythical characters such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, giants, and others. ... The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress is appointed by the United States Librarian of Congress and earns a stipend of $35,000 a year. ... A car from 1956 Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jan. ...

Bibliography

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• Poetry and the Age. NY: Knopf, 1953.
• A Sad Heart at the Supermarket; essays & fables. NY: Atheneum, 1962.
• The Bat-Poet. Pictures by Maurice Sendak. NY: Macmillan, 1964.
• The Lost World. NY: Macmillan, 1965.
• The Animal Family. Decorations by Maurice Sendak. NY: Pantheon Books, 1965. Juv / Fiction J37 a
• The Third Book of Criticism. NY: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1969.
• The Complete Poems. NY: Farrar, Strauss & Giroux, 1969.
• Kipling, Auden & Co.: essays and reviews, 1935-1964. NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1980.
• Randall Jarrell's letters: an autobiographical and literary selection. edited by Mary Jarrell ; assisted by Stuart Wright. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1985.

Image File history File links Emblem-important. ... Alfred A. Knopf ( September 12, 1892 – August 11, 1984) was a leading American publisher of the 20th century. ... Macmillan Publishers Ltd, also known as The Macmillan Group, is a privately-held international publishing company owned by Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. ... Maurice Bernard Sendak (born June 10, 1928) is an American writer and illustrator of childrens literature who is best known for his book Where the Wild Things Are, published in 1963. ... Farrar, Straus and Giroux is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger W. Straus, Jr. ... Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ...

References

1. ^ [The Paris Review, The Art of Poetry No. 14 Peter Levi, Interviewed by Jannika Hurwitt Issue 76, Fall 1979]

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Randall Jarrell

• Jarrell page at Poets.org
• Jarrell page at Modern American Poetry site
• Finding Aid for the Randall Jarrell Papers at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
• Jarrell on the New York Times Featured Authors site
• Essay on Jarrell's criticism
• News of historical marker
• Randall Jarrell on Find-A-Grave