Kizer, Carolyn - Introduction

Kizer, Carolyn 1925–

An American poet and editor, Kizer has relinquished the formal poetic techniques of her early work for a freer verse style, often utilizing the rhythms of natural speech. Themes of loss and alienation inform her poetry, frequently drawing their strength from the poet's underlying concern for the condition of women in society. Kizer has also translated poetic works from Chinese and Urdu into English and, critics have cited an Eastern influence in much of her work. (See also Contemporary Authors, Vols. 65-68.)