Theodore Weiss (poet)

Theodore Russell Weiss (16 December 1916 Reading, Pennsylvania — 15 April 2003 Princeton, New Jersey) was an American poet, and literary magazine editor.

Life

He graduated from Muhlenberg College in 1938 and Columbia University in 1940. He was an instructor at the University of Maryland, College Park, the University of North Carolina, Yale University, and Bard College.^[1] He taught at Princeton University, until retirement in 1987.^[2]

He edited (with his wife, Renee Karol Weiss) Quarterly Review of Literature, which published William Carlos Williams, Wallace Stevens, E. E. Cummings, and Ezra Pound.^[3]

In 1987, he was the subject of a documentary, Living Poetry: A Year in the Life of a Poem, made by Harvey Edwards.^[4]

Awards

• 1956 Wallace Stevens Award
• 1977 Brandeis Creative Arts Award in Poetry
• 1988-89 Poetry Society of America's Shelley Memorial Award
• 1997 Oscar Williams and Gene Durwood Award for Poetry
• 1997 PEN/Nora Magid Lifetime Achievement Award
• Guggenheim fellowship
• Ford Foundation fellowship
• National Foundation of the Arts and Humanities fellowship
• Ingram Merrill Foundation fellowship

Works

Poetry

• The World Before Us: Poems, 1950-1970 (Macmillan, 1970)
• Fireweeds (Macmillan, 1976),
• A Slow Fuse: New Poems (Macmillan, 1984)
• A Sum of Destructions (Louisiana State University Press, 1995),

Essays

• The Breath of Clowns and Kings (Atheneum, 1971), a study of Shakespeare's early comedies and histories
• The Man From Porlock: Engagements, 1944-1981 (Princeton University Press, 1982), a collection of essays.

Edited

• Selections From the Notebooks of Gerard Manley Hopkins (New Directions, 1945).

External links

• Reginald Gibbons (May–Jun 2001). "Interview: Theodore Weiss". The American Poetry Review.

References

General references

1. American Authors and Books, 1640 to the present day, Third revised edition, by W.J. Burke and Will D. Howe, revised by Irving Weiss and Anne Weiss, New York: Crown Publishers, 1972
2. Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia of American Literature, First edition, edited by George Perkins, Barbara Perkins, and Phillip Leininger, New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1991
3. Biography Index. A cumulative index to biographical material in books and magazines, New York: H.W. Wilson Company
   Volume 10: September 1973 — August 1976, 1977
   Volume 12: September 1979 — August 1982, 1983
   Volume 15: September 1986 — August 1988, 1988
   Volume 27: September 2001 — August 2002, 2002
   Volume 29: September 2003 — August 2004, 2004
4. The Blue Book. Leaders of the English-speaking world, 1976 edition, New York: St. Martin's Press
5. Contemporary Authors. A bio-bibliographical guide to current writers in fiction, general nonfiction, poetry, journalism, drama, motion pictures, television, and other fields, Gale Group
   Volumes 9-12, 1st revision, 1974
   Volume 189, 2001
6. Contemporary Authors, Autobiography Series, Volume 2, Detroit: Gale Research, 1985
7. Contemporary Authors, New Revision Series, A bio-bibliographical guide to current writers in fiction, general nonfiction, poetry, journalism, drama, motion pictures, television, and other fields, Detroit: Gale Research
   Volume 46, 1995
   Volume 94, 2001
8. Contemporary Literary Criticism. Excerpts from criticism of the works of today's novelists, poets, playwrights, short story writers, scriptwriters, and other creative writers, Detroit: Gale Research
   Volume 3, 1975
   Volume 8, 1978
   Volume 14, 1980
9. Contemporary Poets, Contemporary Writers of the English Language, editions 2 through 7 (1973–2001), New York: St. Martin's Press
10. Contemporary Authors. A bio-bibliographical guide to current writers in fiction, general nonfiction, poetry, journalism, drama, motion pictures, television, and other fields, Volume 216, Detroit: Gale Group, 2004
11. Crowell's Handbook of Contemporary American Poetry, by Karl Malkoff, New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1973
12. Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 5: American Poets since World War II, Two parts, edited by Donald J. Greiner, Detroit: Gale Research, 1980
13. A Directory of American Poets. Names and addresses of more than 1,500 contemporary poets whose work has been published in the United States. New York: Poets & Writers
    1975 edition, 1974
    1980-1981 edition, 1980
14. The Lincoln Library of Language Arts, Third edition, Two volumes, Columbus, Ohio: Frontier Press Co., 1978
15. The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Poetry in English, edited by Ian Hamilton, Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1994
16. The Penguin Companion to World Literature, American Literature, edited by Malcolm Bradbury, Eric Mottram, & Jean Franco, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1971
17. Twayne Companion to Contemporary Literature in English, Two volumes, edited by R.H.W. Dillard & Amanda Cockrell, New York: Twayne Publishers, 2003
18. Who's Who in the East, 14th edition, 1974–1975, Wilmette, Illinois: Marquis Who's Who, 1974
19. World Authors, 1950–1970, edited by John Wakeman, New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 1975
20. The Writers Directory, editions 3 through 10 (1976–1994)
21. Who's Who in World Jewry, A biographical dictionary of outstanding Jews, 1972 and 1978 editions, edited by I.J. Carmin Karpman
22. Who's Who in American Jewry, Incorporating The Directory of American Jewish Institutions, 1980 edition, Los Angeles: Standard Who's Who, 1980
23. A Dictionary of Literature in the English Language, From 1940 to 1970, compiled and edited by Robin Myers, Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1978
24. Directory of American Scholars, New York: R.R. Bowker
    Sixth edition, Volume 2: English, Speech, & Drama, 1974
    Seventh edition, Volume 2: English, Speech, & Drama, 1978
    Eighth edition, Volume 2: English, Speech, & Drama, 1982
25. Encyclopedia of American Literature, edited by Steven R. Serafin, New York: Continuum Publishing, 1999
26. The International Authors and Writers Who's Who, Cambridge, England: International Biographical Centre
    Eighth edition, edited by Adrian Gaster (1919–1989), 1977
    Ninth edition, edited by Adrian Gaster (1919–1989), 1982
    10th edition, edited by Ernest Kay, 1986
27. International Who's Who in Poetry, Cambridge, England: International Biographical Centre
    Fifth edition, edited by Ernest Kay, 1977
    Sixth edition, edited by Ernest Kay, 1982
28. The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Literature in English, edited by Jenny Stringer, New York: Oxford University Press, 1996
29. Who's Who in America, Wilmette, Illinois: Marquis Who's Who, editions 38 through 57, 1974–2002
30. Who's Who in Entertainment, Third edition, 1998–1999, New Providence, New Jersey: Marquis Who's Who, 1997
31. Who's Who in Writers, Editors & Poets, United States & Canada, A biographical directory, editions 2 through 5 (1988–1995), edited by Curt Johnson, Highland Park, Illinois: December Press
32. The Writers Directory, editions 11 through 19 (1994–2004) Detroit: St. James Press, 1994

Inline citations

1. Theodore Weiss, professor, poet and literary critic, dies, Princeton University Press Release, April 18, 2003
2. Paul Lewis (April 19, 2003). "Theodore Weiss, 86, Poet, Professor and Journal Editor". The New York Times.
3. Andrew Rosenheim (28 April 2003). "Theodore Weiss". The Independent.
4. Living poetry: "Fractions," a year in the life of a poem, VHS (1988) OCLC 42489469