Levertov, Denise 1923–

An English-born American poet sometimes associated with the Black Mountain School, Ms. Levertov has been influenced by William Carlos Williams. She is considered one of America's finest contemporary poets. (See also Contemporary Authors, Vols. 1-4, rev. ed.)

[Denise Levertov is] probably America's best post-war poet…. As a young girl in England she was the most promising of British New Romantics, who have run down even steeper hills than the French into practical oblivion. For a while in America she was influenced by the Southern Cavaliers, but soon developed her own pure, intimate, classic style. She … resembles Mallarmé or Pierre Reverdy, except that she is easily understood. She remains completely a poet of married love, motherhood, daughterhood and the problems of a transfigured domesticity, practically unique in the long tradition of woman poetry in raising these elements to the effective universality of...

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass