Delmore Schwartz (1913-1966) was an American poet, also well known for his short stories. As something of a wunderkind of American poetry, Schwartz published his first book of poems at the age of 25, receiving praise from the highest echelons of modern Parnassus, including William Carlos Williams, T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound and Allen Tate. Schwartz even attempted to compose his generation’s version of The Waste Land—a long poem entitled Genesis—although it was not received well by the critics, a fact which Schwartz grieved throughout his career. Nonetheless, in 1959, Schwartz was the youngest poet to win the Bolligen Prize. Like Eliot, Schwartz wrote verse in a philosophical and meditative vein. His influence can be seen in his protégés—such as his student Saul Bellow, in fiction—among his friends and fellow poets, John Berryman and Robert Lowell, and even in pop stars such as Lou Reed (who was also student of Schwartz’s) and Bono of U2, whose song “Acrobat” (Auchtung Baby) is dedicated to Schwartz.
Delmore Schwartz (1913-1966) was an American poet, also well known for his short stories. As something of a wunderkind of American poetry, Schwartz published his first book of poems at the age of 25, receiving praise from the highest echelons of modern Parnassus, including William Carlos Williams, T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound and Allen Tate. Schwartz even attempted to compose his generation’s version of The Waste Land—a long poem entitled Genesis—although it was not received well by the critics, a fact which Schwartz grieved throughout his career. Nonetheless, in 1959, Schwartz was the youngest poet to win the Bolligen Prize. Like Eliot, Schwartz wrote verse in a philosophical and meditative vein. His influence can be seen in his protégés—such as his student Saul Bellow, in fiction—among his friends and fellow poets, John Berryman and Robert Lowell, and even in pop stars such as Lou Reed (who was also student of Schwartz’s) and Bono of U2, whose song “Acrobat” (Auchtung Baby) is dedicated to Schwartz.
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