BIOGRAPHY

Zabel, Morton Dauwen. “The Poet on Capitol Hill.” Partisan Review 8, no. 1 (January-February 1941): 2-19.

Recounts the events of MacLeish's public career as chairman of the antifascist League of American Writers in the 1930s.

CRITICISM

French, Warren. “‘That Never Realized, Never Abandoned Dream’.” Pembroke Magazine, no. 7 (1976): 123-31.

Claims that MacLeish's work has been generally under-appreciated by critics before surveying his radio dramas in verse The Fall of the City and This Music Crept by Me upon the Waters.

Gish, Nancy K. Review of Poetry and Experience, by Archibald MacLeish. Pembroke Magazine, no. 7 (1976): 52-6.

Summarizes the central tenets of MacLeish's theory of poetic composition contained in his Poetry and Experience.

Hamilton, Kenneth. “The Patience of J. B.” Dalhousie Review 41, no. 1 (spring 1961): 32-9.

Disparages the “romantic humanism” of MacLeish's verse drama J. B., arguing that it fails to adequately suit the religious realism of the biblical Book of Job, on which the work is based.

Heyen, William. “The Courage to Be: Archibald MacLeish.” Pembroke Magazine, no. 7 (1976): 39-47.

Evaluates The Wild Old Wicked Man and Other Poems as it exemplifies MacLeish's attempt to comprehend the totality of a life's experiences through poetry.

———. “Within a Poem by Archibald MacLeish: ‘Companions’.” In The Proceedings of the Archibald MacLeish Symposium, May 7-8 1982, edited by Bernard A. Drabeck, Helen E. Ellis, and Seymour Rudin, pp. 36-42. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 1988.

Explicates MacLeish's poem “Companions” and its theme of the interdependence of all things.

Jerome, Judson. “Archibald MacLeish: The Last of the Moderns.” In The Proceedings of the Archibald MacLeish Symposium, May 7-8 1982, edited by Bernard A. Drabeck, Helen E. Ellis, and Seymour Rudin, pp. 9-15. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 1988.

Remarks on the stagnation of modern poetry after MacLeish, suggesting that the poet's work should be heralded for its Modernist contribution to the literary tradition.

Lane, Lauriat, Jr. “Spatial Form in Literature: MacLeish's Einstein.” Ariel 15, no. 3 (July 1984): 35-47.

Identifies four levels of reference to spatial form in MacLeish's poem Einstein, and explains how these contribute to the poem's thematic concern with spatial patterns.

Lefevere, Andre. “MacLeish in Europe, Europe in MacLeish.” Pembroke Magazine, no. 7 (1976): 119-22.

Considers MacLeish's influence on twentieth-century European literature.

Robinson, James K. Review of New and Collected Poems, 1917-1976, by Archibald MacLeish. Parnassus: Poetry in Review 7, no. 2 (spring-summer 1979): 231-38.

Concentrates on private, autobiographical themes in MacLeish's New and Collected Poems, 1917-1976.

Rosenberg, Harold. “The God in the Car.” Poetry: A Magazine of Verse 52, no. 6 (September 1938): 334-42.

Critiques MacLeish's theory of the social applications of poetry as stated in his essay “In Challenge Not Defense.”

Rosenberger, Coleman. “Poets and Politicians.” Poetry: A Magazine of Verse 65, no. 6 (1945): 322-27.

Argues that MacLeish's career as a statesman is not incompatible with his lifelong poetic vocation.

Smith, R. T. Review of New and Collected Poems, 1917-1976, by Archibald MacLeish. Pembroke Magazine, no. 16 (1984): 147-52.

Surveys the content of New and Collected Poems, 1917-1976 and concludes that MacLeish cannot be regarded as a major poet.

Smoller, Sanford J. “Escape from the Shadows of Hamlet: Archibald MacLeish's Social and Political Writings.” Pembroke Magazine, no. 7 (1976): 11-27.

Examines works including Frescoes for Mr. Rockefeller's City, America Was Promises, The Fall of the City, and Air Raid as they are informed by MacLeish's liberal-democratic political stance.

Wallenstein, Barry. “Poetry and Experience: A Re-evaluation.” Pembroke Magazine, no. 7 (1976): 57-64.

Illuminates MacLeish's view of the social and moral function of poetry as adumbrated in Poetry and Experience.

———. “Poetry and Experience.” In The Proceedings of the Archibald MacLeish Symposium, May 7-8 1982, edited by Bernard A. Drabeck, Helen E. Ellis, and Seymour Rudin, pp. 43-47. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 1988.

Briefly outlines the contents of MacLeish's chief statement on the theory of poetic composition, Poetry and Experience.

Walters, Thomas N. “‘A Work of a Man’: A Personal Appreciation of MacLeish's J. B.” Pembroke Magazine, no. 7 (1976): 65-73.

Laudatory assessment of the verse drama J. B. that describes the work as depicting MacLeish's originality and “maturity of vision.”

White, W. D. “MacLeish's J. B.—Is It a Modern Job?” Mosaic 4, no. 1 (fall 1970): 13-20.

Laments the lack of a true consciousness of God in MacLeish's J. B.

Zabel, Morton Dauwen. “The Poet on Capitol Hill (Part 2).” Partisan Review 8, no. 2 (March-April 1941): 128-45.

Continues the largely biographical assessment of Part 1 (see above, biography section) with a survey of MacLeish's poetic works and their social significance.

Additional coverage of MacLeish's life and career is contained in the following sources published by the Gale Group: American Writers; Contemporary Authors, Vols. 9-12R; Contemporary Authors New Revision Series, Vols. 33, 63; Contemporary Literary Criticism, Vols. 3, 8, 14, 68; Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vols. 4, 7, 45; Dictionary of Literary Biography Yearbook, 1982; DISCovering Authors Modules: Poetry; Drama for Students, Vol. 15; Exploring Poetry; Literature Resource Center; Major 20th-Century Writers, Eds. 1, 2; Poetry for Students, Vol. 5; Poets: American and British; Reference Guide to American Literature, Ed. 4; and Twayne's United States Authors.