When Larry Levis died suddenly in 1996, Philip Levine wrote that he had years earlier recognized Levis as “the most gifted and determined young poet I have ever had the good fortune to have in one of my classes. . . . His early death is a staggering loss for our poetry, but what he left is a major achievement that will enrich our lives.” Each of his books was published to wide critical acclaim, and David St. John has collected together the best of his work from his first five books.
—from the Afterword, by David St. John
A recent feature by the Chicago Tribune Review, “Experiencing Larry Levis’ ‘Widening Spell’ in Nicaragua” is a testament to his influence nearly 20 years after his death.
Larry Patrick Levis was born in Fresno, California, on September 30, 1946. His father was a grape grower, and in his youth Levis drove a tractor, pruned vines, and picked grapes in Selma, California. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Fresno State College (now California State University, Fresno) in 1968, a master’s degree from Syracuse University in 1970, and a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa in 1974.
His first book of poems, Wrecking Crew (1972), won the United States Award from the International Poetry Forum. His second book, The Afterlife (1976), was the Lamont Poetry Selection of The American Academy of Poets. In 1981, The Dollmaker’s Ghost was a winner of the Open Competition of the National Poetry Series.
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